The Myth of the Real: Living in the Age of Artificial Everything

How AI, Filters, and Fakes Redefined What We Call Reality

What happens when fake feels more familiar than real?
We live in an era where truth has a filter, emotion is algorithmic, and meaning is measured in clicks. The Myth of the Real: Living in the Age of Artificial Everything is a clear-eyed exploration of how technology, media, and illusion quietly reshaped what we call reality.

Adrian Crosswell takes readers inside the modern hall of mirrors; from social media feeds to synthetic voices, revealing how convenience replaced curiosity and performance replaced connection. With insight and restraint, he examines what we lose when life becomes optimized and what remains when the noise fades.

Inside you’ll discover:
• How AI, filters, and media distort perception while convincing us they improve it
• Why attention has become the most valuable and manipulated human resource
• The quiet emotional cost of living in a world of simulation and curated identity
• Simple ways to reclaim presence, awareness, and authenticity in daily life

Written in sharp, human language that resists both hype and despair, The Myth of the Real is a guide to seeing clearly in a time built to blur your vision.

For readers of: The Shallows, Enshittification, and How to Do Nothing.