Part 2: What Won't Change: On AI and the Human Core

Keeping Our Humanity

Earlier this week, I wrote about the 5 traits that won’t change in humans. That post is here and to recap:

1. We crave connection
2. We seek novelty
3. We resist conformity
4. We long to be part of something bigger
5. We want to be known

You can analyze so much through this. Today I’ll apply it through an investing lens.

(In fact, it may be interesting to form a basket of stocks utilizing the above. I’ll need to give that more thought and see how a backtest simulation of a portfolio trading on these traits work).

Let’s take each one.

We crave connection. Let’s call this the social networks, communication platforms, dating apps, collaboration tools theme. Obviously, social media stocks were the hot thing in the 2000’s and 2010’s and for most of the 2020’s. More succinctly, platforms that bring people together. Think Meta, Match, Zoom, Duolingo, Roblox.

Now the question is whether, at a broader biological level, could people connect with AI the same way that humans connect with one another (a different post for sure)? If so, then are there companies poised for this opportunity?

Personally, I think for some use cases — an AI connection can be better if the alternative is loneliness. But it only gives a glimpse of the real thing which is humans heal, love, and grow most with other humans. Tech/AI can help accelerate that for sure.

We seek novelty. This falls into the camp of entertainment, gaming, discovery, travel, exploration. Humans are always looking for the next adventure or the next hot thing. Think about the excitement of sharing with others the trendy new Netflix show, or the new album dropped on Spotify. Or think about Airbnb with its dazzling array of every stay is something unique. This novelty factor is typically margin accretive — when you have something no one else has you can charge more for it. Think about Tesla when it first came out and the prices it could command.

We resist conformity. This one is so tied up with novelty that it’s hard to fully separate out the two. I’d think about novelty as about reaching for the next thing and resisting conformity more around self-expression. Think about companies like Etsy where it’s about unique goods, Pinterest a platform for curating a visual identity/lifestyle, or just the broader creator economy. Everyone wants to be different in their own way — and that can sometimes be chasing the next novel thing, or paradoxically, always being consistent to yourself; a more durable resistance to conformity.

Part of something bigger. This is an interesting angle. I don’t know if any company has successfully pulled this off as their sole ethos, but certainly the best brands provide this broader more expansive viewpoint. Think about how good Nike or Apple have been historically with their marketing. It was about aligning yourself with a brand that allowed you to do greater things than yourself. An obvious angle here is the explosion in value of sports franchises and “belonging” to something like that allows for ticket prices to increase annually and for more money to flow around in the sports and entertainment ecosystem.

We want to be known. I think this is most emblematic of the self-help, self-actualization, leadership oriented, and therapy industries. Countless books, podcasts, and content is out there on relationships, friendships, and taking care of oneself, or this is the productivity hack to be a better ______. This is because we ultimately want to have value as a human being and when we have value — we think we'll finally have recognition, acceptance or respect or whatever it is that our souls long for.

I’ll wrap it up here for today. Let me know only comments/thoughts on this. Love to dialogue.