The More Artificial Life Becomes, The More We May Value the Real One
Every major technological leap changes what we value.
When photography became commonplace, original paintings became more prized.
When streaming gave us every song ever recorded, live music didn’t disappear. It became an experience people were willing to pay even more for.
Artificial intelligence may be about to do something similar.
As AI becomes capable of producing words, images, videos and even software almost instantly, digital output becomes less scarce. We may soon have more content than anyone could ever consume.
What doesn’t become more abundant is reality.
A real conversation.
A practical skill.
A place you’ve genuinely travelled through.
A challenge you’ve actually solved.
Living aboard a narrowboat sits firmly in that category.
There’s nothing virtual about working through a lock flight on a rainy afternoon. Nothing artificial about learning how your boat responds to the tiller, finding a quiet mooring for the night, or gradually becoming competent at something that initially felt intimidating.
These experiences have always had value.
What’s changing is their relative value.
For decades we’ve steadily shifted more of our lives onto screens. Banking, shopping, entertainment, friendships and work have all become increasingly digital. AI simply accelerates that trend.
Paradoxically, that may make the analogue parts of life feel even richer.
People often describe living afloat as feeling more present, but it’s not because canal life is somehow disconnected from modern society. Most liveaboards still use laptops, online banking, video calls and everything else the rest of us rely on.
The difference is that digital life becomes a tool rather than the backdrop to every waking hour.
The physical world gently demands your attention instead.
Weather influences your plans.
The seasons become more noticeable.
The simple rhythm of moving the boat, topping up water or finding tomorrow’s mooring creates a structure that no productivity app could ever design because it wasn’t designed for efficiency. It evolved through necessity.
Ironically, AI may make this lifestyle easier than ever.
If routine work can increasingly be completed in less time, people may find themselves with something surprisingly unfamiliar: choice.
Not necessarily retirement.
Not permanent escape.
Just enough breathing space to spend three or six months living differently.
That’s where experiences like extended life aboard start to look less like an indulgence and more like an investment.
Not because they teach you about technology.
Because they remind you of everything technology can’t do for you.
Artificial intelligence can generate an itinerary.
It can’t give you memories.
It can explain how to steer a narrowboat.
It can’t give you the quiet confidence that comes from doing it yourself.
Perhaps that’s what escaping the rat race increasingly means.
Not rejecting technology.
Simply making sure that, as more of life becomes artificial, enough of your own life remains unmistakably real.