Summary
The session’s core message was that digital representation is moving from a speculative communications experiment to an immediate strategic question: organizations now have to decide not only what AI can do, but how much permission they are willing to give it when it speaks as, for, or instead of people. Nanne opened by framing the afternoon around the tension between capability and permission, using the “digital CEO” as an iconic example. A short test asked the audience to judge which CEO video was real and which was synthetic; the synthetic example was the Klarna CEO video. The point was not simply detection, but how perceptions of authenticity shape whether communicators see digital executives as acceptable, useful, or risky.
Key Topics
5 key topics from this session at Scriptorium Initiative Conference 2026. Thicker branches were mentioned more often in the talk.
Key Takeaways
- Set clear boundaries before deploying a synthetic CEO.
- Use digital executives for routine, multilingual staff communication first.
- Avoid synthetic leaders in layoffs or high-risk situations.
- Test whether audiences value authenticity or message clarity more.
- Study virtual influencers to understand human connection with digital personas.
“What does it mean to be real in an era where AI is driving communication?”