In Embarrassing Uncles, Christiane Vejlø explores the distinctly human qualities we risk losing—and why we'll need them in a future with artificial intelligence.
Christiane Vejlø’s Pinlige onkler (Politikens Forlag, 2026) is a book that deserves attention. It revolves around a question well worth asking right now: What happens to us as we increasingly say yes to artificial intelligence and let go of tasks and experiences that have until now been closely tied to being human?
The book’s focus is what we risk losing in the pursuit of efficiency and optimisation: doubt, boredom, friction, mistakes, and the imperfect. In other words, everything that is not necessarily measurable or useful, but which may precisely be what sets us apart from machines. The title refers to the well-liked but occasionally embarrassing uncle at the family celebration: Are we prepared to replace him with a mechanical toastmaster because we have allowed a future with no room for corny jokes and spontaneous slip-ups?
