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Authenticity outlasts algorithms and AI: Prasoon Joshi

Prasoon Joshi on why authenticity, not cleverness, is what survives algorithms and AI—and what that means for brand storytelling.

Marketing Mentalist Desk 29 Sep 2026, 22:20 · 2 min read

At FICCI Frames 2026, Prasoon Joshi offered a quiet counter to the content overload conversation: the fundamentals have not moved. The Chairperson of Prasar Bharati argued that the common thread across advertising, film, music and literature is storytelling, and brands become meaningful when people recognise something of themselves in the work.

“I think authenticity is most important,” he said.

Appeal to recognition, not representation

For brand teams, Joshi drew a practical line. Communication does not become more relevant simply by depicting the target consumer. The creative idea has to connect with an emotion or experience the audience already knows.

“Brands don’t have to show their target audience in the ad. Target audience has to be appealed to,” he said.

That distinction matters in media planning and creative reviews. A mirror may feel accurate, but recognition is what pulls people in.

What outlasts the algorithm

Attention is easy to measure and hard to keep. Joshi noted that what lasts is not necessarily what becomes an instant hit, pointing to work of his that found audiences over time rather than on release.

“What will be beaten is buddhi. But shuddhi will last,” he said.

Cleverness can help content compete. A deeper quality in the creative thought gives it staying power. For marketers, that asymmetry is useful: cleverness may earn the first click, but a cleaner idea keeps earning attention long after the initial impression.

AI changes the creator, not just the output

Joshi acknowledged that commercial creativity may increasingly involve choosing between options generated by AI and other digital tools. The creator’s role could shift from originating every element to identifying and selecting the most effective option.

His warning was about the experience of making, not the quality of the work.

“Creation is not going to suffer. Creator is going to. Because the creator will not get the joy of the best process. The pleasure of creating will be lessened,” he said.

At the same time, AI works with data from what has already been expressed. What is yet to be expressed cannot exist in that dataset, which leaves room for human creativity to produce the unknown.