In my world of work, digital advertising, AI means that I could create 1,000 ads at the click of a button.
An analyst I know runs hundreds more simulations for every piece of work. And I know others picking stocks with systems that analyse the market as well as the best quants.
A copywriter can draft whole books. Vibe coders can generate entire apps. Interior designers and architects and brand designers can spin up an infinite number of routes to choose from.
The execution of an idea is no longer the blocker. Choosing what to build matters more than ever.
One of the biggest challenges in building startups and products has been knowing what to build, and how to get it into the hands of customers.
In 2018, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan said:
“First time founders are obsessed with product. Second time founders are obsessed with distribution.”
Justin Kan
Peter Thiel takes this a step further, saying that most startups get zero distribution channels to work.
Last year I met an AI app factory that was churning out a new app almost every day. The problem was that none of them had any users. Open up any gaming platform and order by ‘new’ and you won’t see the same game twice. A refresh makes that existing list old news almost instantly.
The challenge of what to build, why, and for whom will only get harder with AI, even though the execution layer is now free (or at least, just the cost of tokens).
Multi-disciplinary thinking & developing taste for AI
I’m the CEO of a growth agency. Today, my work involves understanding data structures, reinforcement learning, the basics of Python and TypeScript, and programming concepts.
I need to understand graphic design principles, grid layouts, the history of type, and filmmaking techniques.
I need to consider neuroscience, psychology, behavioural science and sociology. I need to understand systems design and computational thinking.
I have to think about ethics and morality as the reach of my actions spreads. And the need to be a strong communicator has never been more important.
We have to be more intentional in choosing what we want to work on and how.
The idea of taste is both brand new and in vogue, and already receiving a backlashReferenceWhy Tech Bros Are Now Obsessed with TasteKyle Chayka · The New Yorker · Infinite ScrollOn taste becoming Silicon Valley’s favourite word in the age of AI, and the backlash that came with it.Read the article ↗. But there is little going on so far that I can see to help actively develop taste in this new AI era.
I studied at a British university, but I always liked the idea of a liberal arts education. AI feels like the need for that approach to thinking is now here. Being a siloed thinker won’t help us in the new world. Instead, we have to think in a multi-disciplinary way, joining subjects together and making judgements, using taste.
Developing Taste is a community for those who want to actively develop taste. Each fortnight we’ll share a resource to learn from, an article, a documentary, an exhibition or a podcast, and then discuss it afterwards.
Each one is chosen to give a lens on the world we might not otherwise have. The concepts are broad, across many disciplines, so anyone can join in, whatever your expertise.
I look forward to welcoming you in, and to developing taste together.
The first cohort
Developing Taste is a place to do this together, on a schedule, with people who care about it as much as you do.
A fortnightly piece
An essay, lecture or podcast worth your attention, with my notes on why, and a discussion thread to argue it out.
A growing library
Everything we’ve covered, kept and tagged, so you can come back to it rather than lose it to the feed.
People, in person
Meet-ups with the rest of the cohort. The taste you develop is partly the company you keep.