As AI infiltrates every corner of the technology we use to work and play, some Utahns are seeking the escape of tactile experiences that move at the speed of human hands.
Matt James, founder and CEO of Gem Studio, says he is making “the anti-AI bet.” His company offers people the opportunity to put their phones away and make a custom piece of jewelry under the tutelage of silversmiths hired specifically for their ability to entertain and engage.
“The product is the second most important thing,” he says. “The experience and human connection is the first most important thing.”
He describes a growing “hunger” from Gen Z for analog experiences that don’t feature an algorithm or app. It’s a trend that seems to have gained real momentum with the rise of AI. “I think the mainstreaming of AI is speeding up the process of kind of ripping the mask off of how unfulfilling a lot of the way that we spend our time is,” he says.
The ring that started everything
The desire for a more fulfilling hands-on experience is what drove James to teach himself basic silversmithing skills through YouTube at age 23.
“I immediately fell in love with the whole process because it was so physical,” he says. “I had spent so many years in college writing papers and doing things that were in the digital world, and I felt more proud of this silver ring that I made than I did about anything I had done in college at that point.”
He suspected there was a market for other people seeking that same feeling, and Gem Studio was born.
In Utah, the tension between the digital world and the real world plays out every day. For every business betting on tactile experiences, there are Silicon Slopes startups going all in on AI. There are people moving to Utah who were attracted by both the outdoor recreation opportunities and the abundance of tech jobs.
James’s experience highlights that same dichotomy. While he built his business on getting people off their phones, he also says AI has been an invaluable tool for him as a business owner and an entrepreneur, and he uses it on a regular basis for work. Where he draws the line is that he doesn’t want it to crowd out “human connection or hands-on creativity.”
A sweet night out
At Just Add Chocolate in Lehi, beautiful chocolates with celebrity-inspired names like “Strawberry Manilow” and “Mint Romney” line the shelves. What draws most people to the shop, however, is the opportunity to make their own, less professionally crafted box of chocolates.
Foster Lanenga, owner and “Chocolate Executive Officer,” says that whether he sees church youth groups, birthday parties, family reunions or corporate retreats, the smiles and laughter are the same.
“We get a lot of first dates in here,” he says. “It’s a great first date because you can do something with your hands while also talking. You can see their creative side, or see how they handle disappointment if something doesn’t turn out.”
Lanenga built the first half of his career on making name tags for missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before a friend asked him to become a silent partner in a chocolate shop. When that friend was deployed with the Air Force Reserves, Lanenga stepped up in a more hands-on way and found he loved making chocolates.
“It was so fun for me to do this, I thought, ‘I wonder if other people would like to try this?’” he says.
This decade has been a roller coaster for businesses that bring people together in groups. Lanenga said the COVID-19 pandemic came close to putting him out of business altogether as most people became wary of getting together in close quarters. Now, however, the backlash to AI has swung the pendulum the other way, and human contact is seen as a selling point.
Creativity is another selling point. Lanenga says some people are hesitant to be creative at first and ask a lot of questions about whether they can combine two unusual ingredients or what he thinks they should do.
In the age of people often outsourcing their creativity to digital tools, figuring things out without a phone can feel like a novelty. A 2025 Pew Research survey found that 53% of Americans worry that AI will worsen people’s ability to think creatively. But, like any other skill, the more that creativity is practiced — while handmaking chocolate or jewelry, for example — the better it gets. Just as it’s important to strengthen human creativity, there is also an argument for AI’s supportive role in that process.
Stampin’ Up! new memories
Sara Douglass, CEO of Stampin’ Up!, says she sees AI as a “digital enabler of creativity” but thinks that no amount of putting prompts into a computer will ever replace the need for hands-on hobbies and physical keepsakes.
Stampin’ Up! offers paper craft kits for card making and scrapbooking, with a network of more than 50,000 demonstrators who act as creative consultants for “kit togethers” that allow people to connect while crafting. She points out that while the company has been witness to nearly 40 years’ worth of technology innovations, demand for its paper products hasn’t stopped.
“It is becoming more popular with younger generations because they’re trying to find ways to get off their devices,” Douglass says. “We work on computers, we search on computers, we’ve got social on our phones, and so getting together in a hands-on, tactical way is becoming more and more popular and important, truly.”
She says another way younger customers were introduced to paper crafts was by an older relative or family friend. While anyone can do crafts alone, part of the appeal of Stampin’ Up!’s craft kits is usually the chance to spend time with others.
Similar to what Lanenga observes with first dates at Just Add Chocolate, “When people get together to make something with their hands, something changes,” Douglass says. “I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation for it. But it seems like when our hands are occupied, there’s just enough attention on something else that it reduces the social pressure.”
That can pave the way for making new friendships or strengthening existing ones.
Like the owners of Gem Studio and Just Add Chocolate, Douglass feels confident that even if AI changes our relationship to creativity, human connection will always be in demand.
“We see technology increasing, and we see loneliness increasing, and so we have a solution for that,” she says.