Why I Wrote Human Is the New Vinyl

What happens to human creativity now?

In the last two years, AI has catapulted from a marginal storyline into the headspace of public consciousness. ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney, and DALL-E have become platforms mentioned in daily conversations by creators and non-creators alike. I’m not pointing out something you don’t already know.

Since 2022, generative AI has shown a staggering ability to think, write, draw, converse, compose music, generate videos, and even create realistic voices. I had a hunch early on that this was where we were headed. And I was a little worried about AI crowding into the space reserved for my friends, colleagues, fellow teachers, and students… a creative and relational space.

One question kept bugging me:

“What happens to human creativity now?”

I kept returning to an unlikely metaphor: vinyl records.

When music went digital, everyone thought vinyl was gone for good. Compared to digital lossless audio, vinyl sucks, right? It’s clunky, fragile, gets dusty, and wears out. It’s hard to move around, doesn’t work in a car, on vacation, or at the beach. Records are expensive, and they only hold 22 minutes of sound per side.

But vinyl has made a remarkable comeback in the last 20 years. People can’t get enough of it. I just spent $500 on my son’s setup, and it sounds stupid good.

Why the comeback? Because people want to experience real — touch, ritual, imperfection, presence. It all feels more connected to what makes us human.

That metaphor became the heart of my new book:

Human Is the New Vinyl: Why Human Creativity Still Wins in the AI Revolution.

What the book is about

Human Is the New Vinyl is a journey through the past and future of creativity — from the printing press to generative AI.

It’s about what we gain from new tools, but also what we stand to lose if we let “easy” replace what makes us real.

I wrote it for:

• Artists and writers wondering how their work will matter.

• Educators and students wrestling with AI in classrooms.

• Entrepreneurs and leaders trying to adapt without losing their human edge.

The Big Day

📖 Human Is the New Vinyl launches this Tuesday, August 19.

Every single order on launch day makes a difference — it’s how we rise in the charts and help more people discover the message.

👉 Preorder the eBook/Kindle at Amazon. I’d love your support—I think you’ll like the book.

👉 Join us for a FB Live Book Launch with Dr. Aaron Simmons and me! I’ll be under an hour. It’ll be fun and we’d love to see you there.

A Final Thought

AI isn’t evil.

AI is easy.

And easy has a way of winning — even when it shouldn’t.

But what remains is the human spirit.

Thanks for being part of this with me,

Micah