Kafka 3.0: Gregor’s Transformation in the Digital Age (Inspired by “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka)
Why this story?
I wanted to explore how artificial intelligence could open doors to things we never would have imagined… but with one essential condition: that it wouldn’t do everything for us.
AI is an extraordinary tool, but it doesn’t act on its own initiative: it needs a human mind behind it. What can truly transform the world is the creativity, passion, and empathy of the person using it, and the work that carries our personal fingerprint. If we delegate too much to machines, we risk losing what makes us unique: the ability to create with vulnerability, to connect through authenticity, and to make mistakes that can turn into beauty.
As Schopenhauer said, we seek connection, not perfection 1. What moves us isn’t the promise of a flawless result, but the deep feeling of having found ourselves in another, of having shared a moment, an idea, or an emotion. It’s that connection that transforms us and helps us grow. Without human direction, AI could end up filling the world with technically impeccable products… but empty ones. Standards without soul. Efficiency without meaning.
This story is a free adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, written in 1915, brought into our present day through my own interpretation. Behind it are my personal experiences, my learning, and also the collaboration with a virtual assistant that not only knows the original work deeply, but also knows me: how I think, how I write, and what I’m trying to convey.
We wrote it together. Where does my voice end and where does theirs begin? That’s the question. Some say: “An AI did all of this for you.” I don’t think so. There’s a lot of work behind it: the initial idea, the story building, the style, the connections… It’s shared work, but not the result of a single prompt, a single tool, or a single experience. It’s the product of a dialogue, a living creative process. And maybe that’s exactly what makes it so human.
1. This sentence is a free interpretation of Schopenhauer’s thought. In his works, he insisted that the essence of human life is not found in efficiency or perfection, but in the deep and emotional experience of the world. He spoke about the power of music as the most direct form of connection with the will, that vital force that runs through everything that exists, the Wille. For him, art, beauty, and even solitude were paths toward a more authentic truth than any rational system.