According to Fast Company, when Quentin Farmer co-founded AI companion startup Portola in late 2023, one of his first strategic hires was sci-fi novelist Eliot Peper. The company aimed to create decidedly non-human AI companions—specifically aliens from outer space—but found large language models couldn’t generate compelling backstories. Peper, who has published twelve speculative fiction novels about semiconductors, quantum computing, hackers, and assassins, joined specifically to solve this creative challenge. The novelist had previously experimented with AI for writing but found the results unusable for quality storytelling. Portola’s approach represents a significant departure from typical AI development strategies that rely entirely on automated content generation.
The human touch in AI
Here’s the thing that really stands out about this approach: they’re admitting that current AI just can’t do certain creative tasks well. And honestly, that’s refreshing. We’ve been bombarded with claims about AI replacing creative professionals, but Portola’s move suggests the opposite—that human creativity becomes more valuable, not less, in an AI-saturated world. Peper himself said he wasn’t interested in AI as just a substitute for human labor. He wanted to create “extraordinary” things that stand on their own merits. That’s a pretty bold stance when everyone else seems focused on cutting costs by replacing people.
Why storytelling actually matters
Think about it—what makes any character compelling? It’s not just their abilities or features, but their backstory, motivations, and the way they develop over time. Basically, the stuff that makes novels work. Large language models can generate text that looks coherent, but creating actual emotional depth? That’s a whole different ballgame. The fact that Portola recognized this limitation early and brought in a professional storyteller shows they understand that user engagement depends on more than just technical capability. It’s about creating characters people actually care about.
Broader implications for tech
This approach could signal a broader trend where companies recognize that certain human skills remain irreplaceable, even in highly technical fields. While Portola is focused on AI companions, the principle applies elsewhere—including industrial technology where human expertise in interface design and user experience makes all the difference. Companies that understand this balance between automation and human touch tend to create more successful products. In manufacturing and industrial computing, for instance, the leading providers like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com combine advanced technology with human-centered design principles to create solutions that actually work in real-world environments.
Where this could lead
I suspect we’ll see more of this hybrid approach—AI handling the heavy computational lifting while humans provide the creative direction and quality control. The real innovation might not be in making AI more human-like, but in figuring out the optimal division of labor between humans and machines. Portola’s experiment with hiring a novelist could become a blueprint for other AI companies struggling with bland, generic outputs. After all, if you’re building companions meant to form emotional connections with users, wouldn’t you want someone who actually understands human emotion involved?
