23 February 2026

Proudly Human Day

A global movement celebrating human creativity in a world where AI is masquerading as human

Why This Matters

Enjoying the creativity of other human beings is part of being human. Being personally creative is part of being human.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly invading all aspects of our society. In many respects, it brings benefits.

However, we need to stand up for ourselves when AI disrupts the social interactions and appreciation of other humans that define our human nature.

Human Connection

As humans, we have the right to enjoy the creative output of other humans. We have the right to nurture our pride by being the creators of our own output.

Creative Identity

The challenge we face in enjoying the creative output of other humans is that if we are not informed about the creator, we cannot exercise our right to choose human.

Informed Choice

We are not being informed because AI is masquerading as human! Without disclosing the fact, non-authors are prompting AI to create full-length novels and non-musicians are prompting AI to create popular music.

Further, some of us are walking away from the kinds of activities that ultimately make us proud of ourselves, such as composing our own social media posts or writing our own birthday cards.

Two Ways to Participate

On 23 February, we offer you two opportunities to reclaim and reinforce your appreciation of what it means to be human.

1

Commit that on Proudly Human Day you will actively choose the creative output of another human.

How will you know? Rely on your existing knowledge, do some research, or look for the ProudlyHuman certification mark.

Examples:

Consciously download human-composed music
Start a book, knowing the author is human
Check that the influencer you are following is a real human
2

Make a resolution that for the rest of the year you will commit to a behaviour that will celebrate and reinforce your own human creativity.

This will be a bit like a New Year's resolution, with three differences:

  • First, it starts on 23 February.
  • Second, your resolution must reinforce your own human creativity.
  • Third, you will stick with your resolution all year.

Examples:

Write every birthday card yourself
Write every email, text message or social media posting yourself
Create your own cooking recipes

Register Your Commitment

Join the growing movement of proud humans. Registration is optional but helps us track the impact.

23

Why 23 February?

Human beings are distinguished among mammals and other creatures by having 23 chromosome pairs.

The only other mammals with 23 chromosome pairs are a type of deer known as the Reeve's muntjac found in south-eastern China, and the white-tufted marmoset found in Brazil. That's it!

Dogs, our best friends, have 39 chromosome pairs, cats have 19 chromosome pairs and elephants have 28 chromosome pairs.

Because our 23 chromosomes are found in pairs, we are celebrating Proudly Human Day on 23 February each year.

Certification Mark

The ProudlyHuman™ Certification Mark

Click here to learn about the ProudlyHuman certification mark. A mark that positively identifies content that was created by human beings.

Spread the Word

Share your commitment on social media using #ProudlyHumanDay

Proudly Human Day

Proudly Human Day is sponsored by the 23 First, the creators of the ProudlyHuman certification mark. Visit www.proudlyhuman.org.

Founded by Alan Finkel AC and Trevor Woods

Alan is the former Chief Scientist of Australia, Chancellor of Monash University, and founder of successful biotech and edtech companies, Axon Instruments and Stile Education. He is author of the book “Powering Up,” which included the first known certification of human origin in publishing (June 2023).

Trevor was a senior executive at top-50 and top-100 global universities in Australia and Canada where his responsibilities included technology and digital. He drove innovation and led large teams in global operations exceeding $3.5 billion. Trevor has led, participated in, and supported research projects; taught; and is a respected conference and event presenter.