I am confident that AI will not destroy our need for personal connection, humanity, stories and expression.
If I am sure of it, one word reason.
Culture.
When people talk about AI, they underestimate the power of culture.
As in common values and thinking. A slow, invisible force decides what is and is not in our lives.
Here’s what most people miss. When something new comes in, it has to go through the culture before you can change anything. And culture moves slowly.
How things actually become normal
Think about how anything new spreads. Early adopters are the first to run with it. But it is not yet mainstream. And unless it’s mainstream, we don’t know its true cultural impact.
That’s what researchers call it diffusion of innovation. New ideas flow from a small group of experimenters to the general population along a predictable S-curve. A slow start, a steep climb, then a plateau after something is fully absorbed into everyday life.
Get a five day work week. We treat it as if it always existed. No. Henry Ford announced the plan in 1922 and implemented it in 1926.
Before that, it was common to work six days and sixty hours. It took decades to go from a radical idea to something we can’t touch now.
Social media did the same. It started as a way to connect with people you know. It then slowly changed how we talk, date, argue, shop and see ourselves. No one has solved it. It has permeated the culture over the years.
Or look at alcohol. How going out and drinking have bonded young people for a long time. Now coffee shops are thriving.
Vigilance is becoming the norm. The whole fitness culture exploded, with new brands and a wave of multimillionaires selling supplements, clothing and healthy lifestyles.
None of these changes happened overnight. Slowly, then suddenly.
AI is experiencing this now
We have AI in our hands for about four years. The culture around him is just beginning to form.
Such changes last five to ten years, and public opinion is stable. We are in the middle of a mess.
What I see is a lot of resistance. People are strongly recoiling from the idea that artificial intelligence can replace humans. And I understand why. The word itself, artificial intelligence makes people nervous.
AI knows everything that has been recorded so far. But it’s backwards, not forwards.
It remixes something that already exists. This is the perfect DJ. Perfect remixer. But it does not create new genres. He does not invent new forms of art.
This difference is more important than people realize.
What I learned from intensive use of AI
In recent weeks, I’ve been automating a job that required a team of three.
Planning, processing, correction, references, exhibits, titles. Currently, most of the production work is being done.
All I do is write articles.
But here is the key. The content you are reading is still me. These are my ideas, my thinking, my experience. AI will help you present it. This part can be automated. It is impossible to think.
I see the same thing in my family business, a traditional company selling industrial laundry equipment. We automate:
- Invoicing and accounting
- Parts of the sales process
- Note and follow up
All annoying parts of the job. The parts no one wants to do.
AI loves to take over jobs we never wanted. It was what everyone wanted all along.
The economy is moving from need to need
Competence ceases to be special when everyone has access to the same tools. This becomes the basis. If anyone can write a clean email, create graphic design, or ship a product with AI, those things no longer set you apart.
So what’s left?
You.
Your name. Your reputation. Your taste. Your point of view. The reason why someone chooses you in the automated version.
Now it’s not a question of whether we can replace someone. We can.
The real question is now different: do we want to?
A personal brand is the answer. It’s not about being famous. It’s about being wanted. When you have a strong personal brand, people don’t just want things done. They want you to be the one to do it.
In a world where anyone can do anything, being wanted is the only real safety left.
Build your brand. Share your opinion. Write your name on your work. Let people see the man behind it.
Because tools are now available to everyone. You are the only thing that cannot be copied.
Create your own in one weekend
If you don’t have a personal brand yet, or if you’re starting a brand that’s sitting half-baked, this is my launch course in 48.
This is my cohort-based course where you build and launch your brand in one weekend: name, page, freebie, welcome email, all live.
This year’s cohort comes with 14 video lessons, a live workshop on July 1st, and free access to Darius 2, my trained AI assistant on all my custom frameworks.
The cohort works once a year. Registration ends on June 30.
