I see three distinct drivers of taste: Inputs, Filters, and Discernment.

INPUTS are the experiences, knowledge and data you seek. Your brain is a system that absorbs whatever is around it, and then mashes it together alongside a lot of emotionally-driven randomness that results in all sorts of ideas, mistakes of the eye, and a lens on the world that resembles a fingerprint, unique only to you. Curating your inputs is vital. In a world of data and information overload, what inputs do you choose?

FILTERS determine what you decide to block out. In a world of noise, lowest common denominator content designed for algorithms, and endless trends and fads that pull you down to the baseline of what is mainstream and soon cliche, what do you actively choose to ignore? How do you apply and fortify your filters in this modern world? Your filters preserve the uniqueness of your lens on the world.

DISCERNMENT is the choices you make. Based on your unique lens resulting from your many inputs, and the clarity of your signal based on your filters, you make choices daily. Choices of how to write or say something. Choices of what to create, where every brushstroke should be applied, what to cut in the editing room, who to hire or surround yourself with, what to wear to express your identity, what risk is worth taking, and what idea is worth pursuing.

Your taste (your inputs, filters, and discernment) is your human moat in an AI world. Your taste keeps you valuable and gives you the upper hand in determining the future.

As AI commoditizes the ability to make things, the value shifts to those with a superior ability to choose. Taste is not just about aesthetics; it is the human superpower of noticing what is relevant before the algorithm does. It is knowing what do and exclude, and identifying the edge that may someday become the center.

Key Takeaway: Optimize your taste by becoming more deliberate with your inputs, filters and discernment. As AI lowers the technical barriers to execution, the “human premium” shifts from doing to deciding — and not being so easily dissuaded and persuaded. Get serious about the slate of experiences you seek (your inputs). Be rigorous with the filters you apply (be cautious of algorithmic feeds, don’t just watch what Netflix or Instagram suggests, be wary of lowest-common-denominator defaults, spend more time at the edge). And channel your curiosity and permeability to expand the surface area of what you’re exposed to.

What are We Gonna Do Now? Winning The Era of Superhumanity