AI can generate just about anything, yet genuine connections between people are increasingly turning into a luxury.

Technology always reshapes values, often in ways we never anticipate, which is arguably one of the most significant economic consequences brought by the AI revolution.

The internet has flooded us with information, social media makes it possible for you to reach almost anyone, and now AI has driven the production cost of digital content to an extremely low level while drastically accelerating its generation speed.

Image source: Generated by Doubao AI

Yet paradoxically, the more the digital world has "everything to offer", the more valuable those real experiences that cannot be replicated by technology become.

This rule is far from new. Every technological breakthrough opens up new possibilities, creates new problems, and then gives rise to the next batch of entrepreneurs to fill the gaps.

The railways in the late 19th century connected the entire country in an unprecedented way, but they also left people living far from the railway tracks out of the loop.

Later, the automotive industry emerged, serving exactly those groups of people that the railway network failed to cover.

A similar cycle is repeating itself today, except that the scarce resource this time is the genuine human-to-human connection.

What I have been doing all my life is essentially finding ways to connect people together.

Back then, that was exactly the original intention of creating AOL: to connect people with information, and people with each other in ways that were impossible before.

We did achieve that success.

But as the internet evolved over time, the nature of these connections has changed.

Social media began to use algorithms to "curate" your experience, with the underlying logic of predicting what you would stay engaged with.

They put it in a nice way: filtering out the noise for you, so that you can connect with countless like-minded people.

Image source: Generated by Doubao AI

But the side effects followed — we have fewer opportunities to have in-depth conversations with the people we truly care about, and we can no longer meet those unexpected people who help us step out of our information cocoons.

The same trade-off exists in the convenience economy. When I was in my twenties, if I wanted to order a late-night takeaway, I barely had any other options besides pizza.

Now with a single app, almost any type of food can be delivered to your doorstep within minutes.

That's certainly great, but it also means you are far less likely to become a regular at the small restaurant downstairs, and you have far fewer chances to get familiar with your neighbors.

Convenience and interpersonal connection are two completely different things after all.

Back in the early 1980s, futurist John Naisbitt named this phenomenon "high tech/high touch".

What he meant is that the more technology we embed into our lives, the more we crave the counterbalancing human warmth. This view has suddenly become extremely urgent in the AI era.

AI can summarize almost any topic, generate an image in seconds, and is getting increasingly adept at handling tasks that previously could only be done by humans.

The digital world is heading towards an exaggerated era where nothing is scarce, but when there is an abundance of everything, the value system shifts accordingly.

Image source: Generated by Doubao AI

When information was scarce, we paid for judgment and trust; when entertainment is available on demand, we instead seek out activities that motivate us to step outside; when any place in the world can be toured virtually, making a trip there in person becomes far more meaningful.

This shift is already clearly visible.

One of the fastest-growing businesses of National Geographic is adventure travel.

Disney's theme parks continue to set new attendance records, even though its streaming service offers endless content that you could binge every minute you are awake.

Music fans pack stadiums and arenas to listen to songs they have already looped hundreds of times on Spotify, not for the music itself, but for the chance to feel the vibe of the live scene together with a crowd of people.

In fact, this summer's World Cup is the perfect example: for millions of people, it is no longer a game to watch alone at home, but a collective activity where everyone gathers in parks and squares to have fun together.

At the end of the day, what we are looking for is exactly the sense of connection brought by experiencing a meaningful event in real time together with others.

Image source: Generated by Doubao AI

Travis Kalanick, co-founder of Uber, recently raised 1.7 billion dollars for Atoms, an industrial AI company.

He frankly stated: "Land is the absolute top priority."

AI can make physical assets more efficient, but it cannot multiply land, factories, and real-world infrastructure. The same logic applies to places and experiences that technology can enhance, but can never replace.

Bernard Arnault of LVMH has also realized that the focus of consumption has shifted from simply owning products to valuing experiences, which is why he has poured huge sums of money into the hospitality business.

Similarly, Barry Diller intends to acquire MGM Resorts International, partly because it holds real-world assets and offline experiences that AI cannot easily disrupt.

As consumers are increasingly willing to pay for experiences that require time and in-person presence, opportunities arise for entrepreneurs — to build places, businesses and experiences that technology cannot replicate.

The next wave of great innovations may not be about making the real world more like the digital world, but about making us want to return to the real world once again.

This article is translated by Leikeji from Bloomberg Opinion

Original article link: AI is making human connection more valuable than ever before

This article is published by 36Kr with authorization from the original source "Leikeji".