AI Wealth Truth (68): Why AI Makes "Taste" the Last Moat

I. AI can write articles, draw, compose, generate video. The cost of producing content is trending toward zero. In theory, AI can output infinitely. But this raises a question: who decides what is "good"?

II. When production is no longer scarce, selection becomes the scarce skill. This selection ability has a traditional name: taste (Taste).

III. What is taste?

IV. Taste is the ability to judge quality. Given two images, knowing which is better. Given two articles, knowing which is more valuable. Given ten options, knowing which to pick. Taste is aesthetics and judgment.

V. Why can't taste be replaced by AI?

VI. AI optimizes for "average correct." AI is trained on large-scale data and learns the group's average preferences. It generates what "most people like." But taste is often anti-average. True taste identifies what goes beyond the average.

VII. Taste is subjective. There is no objective standard for what is "good." Different cultures, eras, and circles have different aesthetics. AI can learn an aesthetic standard, but it cannot create new standards. The evolution of taste comes from humans, not AI.

VIII. Taste involves value judgment. Not only "does it look good," but also "what does it represent" and "what message does it send." This requires deep understanding of human society, culture, and history. AI does not have this understanding.

IX. What is the economic value of taste?

X. Taste is curation ability. When content is infinite, curators (those who tell you what to look at) become valuable. Good editors, good buyers, good KOLs. Their value is selection. Their taste is their asset.

XI. Taste is product positioning ability. Steve Jobs's taste made Apple products different. There is no technical barrier (other companies also have the tech), but taste is a barrier. Taste determines product differentiation.

XII. Taste is the foundation of personal brand. Why are some people's recommendations more valuable? Because their taste is trusted. This trust cannot be copied by AI. Taste is bound to the person.

XIII. In the AI era, taste will be more valuable.

XIV. The supply side is saturated. AI can produce infinite content. In the flood of content, it becomes harder to identify value. Those who can identify value become rarer.

XV. Noise increases. Mediocre AI-generated content will drown the internet. It becomes harder to distinguish signal from noise. Taste is a noise filter.

XVI. Trust is scarce. When anyone can use AI to generate "decent" content, "who says it" becomes more important than "what is said." Taste is bound to identity. Identity cannot be copied.

XVII. How do you cultivate taste?

XVIII. 1. Consume high-quality content in volume. Taste comes from comparison. Only after seeing enough good things can you recognize good. Classic books, great design, top works. Input determines output.

XIX. 2. Understand why it is good. Do not just consume passively; analyze. What makes this design good? Why does this article move people? Turn intuition into cognition.

XX. 3. Practice and get feedback in volume. Make choices, then see the results. Are your picks recognized? Use feedback to calibrate your judgment. Taste can be trained.

XXI. 4. Develop a unique perspective. Do not follow mainstream aesthetics. Cultivate your own preferences, and have the courage to stick with them. Unique taste is more valuable than mediocre taste.

XXII. Who will win in the competition of taste?

XXIII. Those with cultural accumulation. Taste does not appear out of thin air. It comes from education, reading, travel, experience. Cultural capital turns into taste.

XXIV. Those with time and energy for deep thinking. Taste needs reflection. Those who are harvested for attention have no time to cultivate taste. Taste is a class privilege (back to the theme of deep work).

XXV. AI makes production no longer scarce. Judgment becomes the new scarce resource. Many people can produce. Few can judge what is worth producing. In the AI era, taste may be the last moat. It cannot be automated. It cannot be copied. It is bound to the person. If you want to stay valuable in the AI era. Cultivate your taste. This may be the last territory AI cannot reach.