As artificial intelligence continues to redefine how brands communicate, one of Africa’s leading digital innovation experts, Oti Ukubeyinje, has delivered a sobering reminder  perfection may be killing trust.

Ukubeyinje, who is renowned for building data-driven experiences across Africa, made this revelation in a post shared on his LinkedIn page, where he reflected on how the marketing world’s growing obsession with AI-generated content is gradually eroding authenticity and human connection.

“Perfection Doesn’t Sell Trust”

In his post, Ukubeyinje highlighted the rise of advanced content tools such as Veo 3.1, HeyGen, and Synthesia, which now enable brands to generate lifelike videos of digital humans flawless in tone, lighting, and delivery to promote products that they’ve never actually used.

But in his words, “Perfection doesn’t sell trust.”

He explained that the real power of a recommendation lies in credibility and emotional connection. “You believe your friend because you know them,” he wrote. “There’s skin in the game.”

When AI Becomes Every Voice

Ukubeyinje warned that as brands increasingly rely on synthetic voices and virtual influencers, audiences may soon become desensitized. “When AI becomes the voice of every product,” he cautioned, “it becomes nobody’s voice.”

He predicted that consumers will eventually tune out these algorithmically perfect “humans,” craving instead the one thing artificial intelligence cannot replicate authentic word-of-mouth from real people.

The Return to Real Conversations

Reflecting on the changing tides of marketing, Ukubeyinje noted that the industry is coming full circle back to conversations instead of campaigns, plugs instead of posts, and humans instead of hyperreals.

He concluded that the most successful brands of the future will not merely be AI-savvy, but trust-savvy  those that understand that emotional credibility remains the strongest marketing currency.

A Human Message in a Digital Age

Ukubeyinje’s reflection, shared through his LinkedIn post, underscores a growing reality within the global marketing landscape: while AI brings speed, scale, and precision, it cannot replace the emotional depth of genuine human connection.

His message is simple yet powerful in the age of artificial perfection, authenticity is still the ultimate differentiator.