AI and the value of taste

Anyone can now generate content (text, audio, images, video) with a single prompt. The cost of creation is collapsing to near zero. We live in amazing times.

It also produces what people have started calling slop: an overwhelming volume of content, much of it interchangeable. When supply becomes infinite, attention becomes scarce. Two thoughts follow from this.

First, the era of personalized content is finally here.
When generation is cheap, we don’t just filter existing content, we generate it. Instead of an algorithm deciding what you might like from a global pool, your feed can be created specifically for you, reflecting your interests, context, and intent. This is a meaningful shift: from recommendation to creation.

Second, as the cost of generation goes to zero, the value of taste goes to infinity.
When anyone can make something, what matters is knowing what should be made. Taste becomes the constraint. Just as there is one Picasso among thousands of painters, there will be people who can consistently direct AI toward work that resonates. They may not produce the content themselves, but they shape it—through judgment, curation, and intent.

In a world flooded with output, taste is the differentiator.