Friday, August 15, 2025 Issue #145

From Dubois County

Hey Reader,

If you are on social media, maybe you've seen Frank the electrician in a Facebook post with the seemingly heartfelt story that he inspired someone to go into trade school.

I've seen it being shared by a lot of people, and while the sentiment is admirable, I think it's interesting because Frank and his story were created by AI.

Frank doesn't exist, but his story resonates with many of us for a multitude of reasons. But let's step back to something I look to as an example of the importance of this narrative we call living.

Brandon Stanton began taking photos of people around New York after being laid off in 2010, with the goal of photographing 10,000 people.

He had been going at it for several months, finding photos and publishing one each day with a caption he wrote, until one picture became a pivot point for Humans of New York.

The Green Lady.

Stanton took her photo, and instead of writing up his caption, he asked her why she was dressed all in green.

Here is what he told The Profile in an interview.

"It was a bad picture. I probably wouldn't have posted it otherwise because I really messed it up, but I decided to put it up anyway.

And then, I had remembered that she said something to me: "I used to be a different color every single day, but one day I was green, and that was a great day so I've been green for 15 years." I was just like, "OK, I'll just put that little quote above the picture." And I did, and it was by far the most liked picture I had ever put up, which was only like 100 likes at the time.

It was a eureka moment because I realized that people were much more interested in learning about these people than they were in seeing these people."

That's what Frank is missing. He's the product of a few quick prompts in an AI model combined with the Hallmarkification of reality.

Frank's story, which exists only for the sake of being a story that anyone can mold themselves into, is diminishing our human narrative.

He's common and soulless.

Unlike The Green Lady, whose spontaneous response about that one great day fifteen years ago is irreducibly human.

I had a friend tell me how creepy it was that something which is so profoundly part of who we are, our creativity, is being so quickly colonized by pseudo-intelligence.

I'd add that it's also creepy that it's being celebrated.

Hope you have a great weekend, and hey, go create something.

From Dubois County with love.

Matthew and Amy Crane

Want to get your business in From Dubois County? Lets talk.

Send us story ideas, photos you would like to share or just a quick comment to editor@duboiscountyfreepress.com.

​Was this email forwarded to you? ​Subscribe to the newsletter here.​

​Jasper Council hears all sides on Mid-States Corridor​

​Memorial Hospital Foundation announces name change to Memorial Medical Center Foundation​

​Lengthy investigation into sheriff’s alleged wrongdoing ends with investigator in hot water​

​Ferdinand Road East to be closed on Tuesday​

​Letter: People don’t move to areas because of new highways​

We have a community calendar full of great activities and events happening in Dubois County.

If you have an upcoming event you'd like the public to know about, please add it to our calendar.

​See it here.​

​Streicher Construction offering Sign-on Bonus for Working Foreman​

​

Check out all the job opportunities by clicking here: Employment​

Contact Amy at amy@duboiscountyfreepress.com or 812-639-9650 if you would like to list openings on our website.​

Like what you see? Share with a friend or drop us a line at editor@duboiscountyfreepress.com​