Society, civilised society at least, is never very ready to believe anything to the detriment of those who are both rich and fascinating.

From The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde (1891)

Why white denim separates the haves from the have yachts

Headline
An ode to white denim from Monocle’s cream trousered contributing editor
WRITER
Robert Bound
Monocle July, 2026

In an era of infinite, seemingly perfect but totally synthetic content, the most valuable commodity will be humanity: unprogrammable evidence that a story passed through a living limbic system.

The irreplaceable value of humanity in the age of AI
WRITER Mario Garcia
Monocle, July, 2026

Until a machine can share the breath and the organic signature of life, it will remain a mind without comprehension: a nose without scent receptors.

The irreplaceable value of humanity in the age of AI
WRITER Mario Garcia
Monocle, July, 2026

It [AI) exists in a vacuum of data and doesn’t wonder about its place in the universe because it doesn’t occupy a place. It occupies a server.

The irreplaceable value of humanity in the age of AI
WRITER Mario Garcia
Monocle, July, 2026

The difference is that text is a low-quality abstraction, while tactile experience offers a high-bandwidth education: in gravity, spatial constraints and physics. AI could, for instance, describe a glass falling off a table but it can’t feel or understand the physical stakes.

The irreplaceable value of humanity in the age of AI
WRITER Mario Garcia
Monocle, July, 2026

For all the alarmism surrounding artificial intelligence, the human mind is unlikely to be superceded altogether. Instead, the nuance, empathy and lived experience that we offer will become premium commodities.

The irreplaceable value of humanity in the age of AI
WRITER Mario Garcia
Monocle, July, 2026

“Industry sacrificed the city’s identity,… It devastated the environment, degraded the air and river, and hid the city’s heritage under a layer of dirt.”

Mayor Mariví Monteserin Rodríguez
Avilés

Spain’s newest art initiative Bienal Climática bridges Avilés’s industrial past with its ecological future
Agnish Ray
Monocle June, 2026

… the person posing the question must remain responsible for the answer…

AI won’t replace jobs humans are good at. Now people just need to prove their worth
Josh Fehnert
Monocle, June, 2026

“The problem is not that children exist on social media. It’s that social-media companies have built platforms that are unsafe by design.”

Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK
The UK’s under-16 social-media ban won’t make Big Tech
Yo Zushi
Monocle June 2026