The Witness Class

As AI masters production, humans are building a meaning economy based on presence, ritual, and intentional inefficiency

At Milan Fashion Week in September, Tod’s staged needlework as theater. Artisans in white frocks hand-stitched leather while models walked past, the labor presented as the luxury good itself. The CEO declared machines would never replace their artisans. It sounds like posturing until you check the numbers: handmade product sales rose 25% this year while…