PSA: Faces For Peace

April 22nd is the 300th anniversary of the birthday of the German great philosopher Immanuel Kant. His ideas remain relevant: Without him, our understanding of democracy, freedom, peace, and justice would still be vastly different today. Yet, today Kant is hardly read – his works are challenging and not easily accessible, especially for young people. With wars and conflicts in 2024 making Kant's ideas for peace and better coexistence more important than ever, German association FRIENDS OF KANT AND KÖNIGSBERG worked with agency Jung von Matt CREATORS to bring Kant back to life, using AI to create a modern-day persona designed to appeal to a Gen Z audience. The result is Manu, a 23-year-old influencer who, as @manumanukant, lives a typical young life in 2024. With an Instagram bio that describes himself as “Spreading good vibes and deep thoughts” he’s a handsome young guy who shares images, selfies (himself looking soulful in bookstores for example), stories, and reels and comments. But alongside this aesthetic feed, Manu manages to convey profound philosophical concepts in contemporary language, casually introducing his followers to Kant's philosophy. In one post, for example, he analyses the song lyrics of Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” explaining how they tie in with his ideas about the importance of self respect and autonomy. Alongside the Manu account, JvM also created an Instagram Teleprompter filter called FacesForPeace, allowing people to record one themselves reciting one of Kant’s nine articles from “Perpetual Peace.” This work was published by Kant in 1795 and describes how eternal peace can be achieved - a goal still worth striving for even after 300 years.