Artisanal Intelligence

Vinyl records. Craft spirits. Hand-knit clothing. Memorable meals. As tech becomes more powerful and pervasive, the appeal of things that feel human, tangible, and personal tends to rise alongside it.

Futurist John Naisbitt gave this pattern a name in Megatrends: “high tech / high touch.” In The Experience Economy, Pine and Gilmore argue that as goods and services become commoditized, economic value moves toward experiences. Craft sits squarely in that category. Skill, time, materials, and visible human effort become part of what people crave and value.

What happens when heritage craftsmanship and advanced technology evolve together by design?

We see versions of this dynamic across industries. Some of today’s most technologically ambitious projects are designed to deepen physical experiences rather than replace them. Sphere. is a striking example: extraordinary computational and engineering capability used to create a shared, immersive, in-person experience.

At a very different scale, others are exploring similar territory. Take The British Cræft Prize, a new £60,000 award launched by Nation of Artisans. The prize isn’t simply about celebrating traditional makers. It seeks creative technological and aesthetic inventions that combine centuries-old craft knowledge with emerging tools. Founder Louis Elton describes this approach as “artisanal intelligence”: combining knowledge embedded in traditional crafts with the possibilities opened by modern technology.

The high tech / high touch pattern suggests that some of the most interesting innovations of the coming decade will emerge from exactly that intersection. I’ll be watching with interest.

Featured image from Hope Macaulay.