Human First AI: Why 'Good Taste' Will Become Make or Break for Brands
Good taste is a funny thing. Some years ago, my (much) better half persuaded me that a CHANEL handbag - the classic black one - was the perfect gift for her birthday. We were in Geneva (which I thought was enough of a present, but hey ho), and we went into the Chanel store there. I took out my credit card, and £1,500 later (that's the figure that sticks in my mind, but it may have been more - it's just too painful to recall), she had her handbag.
Some 20 years later, she still has it, and it's looking pretty damn new. She assures me that second-hand, they go for more than we paid. When we bought it, I asked her why Chanel - why not Louis Vuitton or Gucci? I remember being impressed with myself for recalling those competitor brands and knowing they also offered handbags. She said, "Because it's a classic and it's good taste. The other brands are indeed luxury, but her view was that they're not understated and in good taste." That's a matter of opinion, and that's the point here - it's about 'good taste,' which is entirely subjective.
Now, I'll admit I know nothing about handbags (or, for that matter, good taste - apart from my taste in other halves, perhaps). However, it got me thinking about that concept and how much it will matter when AI guides buyer journeys.
The Conference Insight That Confirmed My Thinking
I saw a post from Chris Perkins about a conference in Manchester that he attended, exploring the role of AI in growth. He said the standout insight came from Sarah McDevitt of HubSpot , who spoke about the human relationship with AI and how people who succeed will be those who can bridge the gap between AI efficiency and automation, as well as human trust and connection - the idea of "relational intelligence."
As Chris noted, it's all around the concept that, as amazing as AI is, it can't sustain human relationships in the way we can. We can use AI as our thinking partner. Claude is my partner for written content (see the bottom of this article for information on how I use it). AI tools are capable of so much, but still lack that spark of human innovation, interpretation, and communication.
What's emerging from AI leaders and thinkers is a human-centric approach where AI enhances what we do if we embrace it, rather than replacing us. This aligns perfectly with what I will be exploring in my Human First AI series, which focuses on leveraging our human capital as part of our AI strategy.
While Everyone's Obsessing Over What AI Can Do
Here's what most people are missing: while everyone is obsessing over what AI can do, the real competitive advantage lies in distinctly human qualities that become more valuable, not less. Good taste, discernment, cultural context, and aesthetic judgement aren't just nice-to-haves - they're about to become the ultimate business differentiators in an AI world.
Think about it. When everyone has access to the same AI tools, when ChatGPT can write copy for anyone, when Canva Magic Studio can create designs for everyone, what separates the excellent from the mediocre? It's not the technology - it's the human judgment about how to use it.
What Good Taste Actually Means (Beyond the Luxury Fallacy)
My education in Chanel handbags taught me something important: good taste isn't about spending the most money or choosing the most expensive option. My wife didn't choose Chanel because it was the priciest option available; she chose it because it represented something timeless, understated, and enduring.
This applies far beyond luxury goods:
In B2C contexts, good taste means understanding what feels right to consumers beyond what market research suggests. It's knowing when to break conventional wisdom because you sense a cultural shift happening.
In B2B contexts, good taste means understanding what resonates with professional audiences - the cultural fit, the appropriate tone, and the unspoken rules of different industries. It's knowing when understated professionalism beats flashy marketing.
The luxury fallacy trips up many businesses. They assume good taste equals expensive, when really, it's about appropriateness, context, and authenticity. For example, IKEA demonstrates excellent design sensibility at accessible prices, while plenty of overpriced products demonstrate poor taste despite their premium positioning.
Why Good Taste Will Become Make or Break for Brands
Here's why this matters more than ever: AI democratisation is creating a sameness problem. When everyone has access to the same AI tools, the output becomes commoditised. Brand differentiation through technology alone, which is a competitive advantage today, becomes impossible.
Good taste becomes the differentiator that separates brands from AI-generated mediocrity. While AI can optimise for metrics, humans understand cultural resonance. While AI can analyse what has worked before, humans can sense what will work next.
Consider the marketing materials flooding LinkedIn right now. Much of it feels AI-generated because it follows the same patterns, uses similar language, and lacks the cultural sensitivity that human judgment provides. The brands that stand out are those with human curators making taste-based decisions about tone, timing, and cultural appropriateness.
Why Good Taste Becomes Your Competitive Killer Punch
The taste gap is becoming the competitive killer punch because it creates defendable advantages that AI cannot replicate:
Cultural moment timing: Knowing when to lean into a trend versus when to step back requires lived experience and emotional intelligence that AI currently lacks.
Contextual appropriateness: Understanding what works for your specific audience in your particular moment requires human intuition about subtext and cultural undercurrents.
Authentic expression: The difference between content that feels genuine and content that feels manufactured is something humans can sense instantly, but AI struggles to navigate.
Strategic rule-breaking: Knowing when and how to break conventional wisdom effectively is a uniquely human capability that requires understanding both the rules and the cultural context in which they are broken.
The Evolution of Taste-Making
We've witnessed a fascinating evolution in who decides what constitutes good taste:
Pre-internet era: Traditional gatekeepers, including celebrities, the aristocracy, magazine editors, art critics, and industry leaders, as well as established media, controlled taste-making. There were clear hierarchies and recognised authorities.
Internet era: Democratisation through bloggers, social media influencers, and crowd-sourced opinions. Anyone could become a tastemaker, but authority became fragmented and harder to establish.
AI era: Algorithms now make recommendations and curate content, but they lack the cultural context and emotional intelligence that human tastemakers provide. We have more information but less wisdom about what truly resonates.
This evolution reveals something important: while the mechanisms of taste-making have changed, the need for human judgment has remained constant. As information becomes more abundant and algorithmic, human discernment becomes more valuable, not less.
Why AI Cannot Replicate Good Taste
AI's limitations in replicating good taste stem from fundamental differences in how humans and machines process cultural information:
Pattern recognition versus cultural intuition: AI excels at identifying what has worked before, but it cannot feel what will resonate now. It can tell you that minimalist design performed well last quarter, but it can't sense when cultural moments are shifting towards maximalism.
Data aggregation versus context sensitivity: AI averages preferences across populations, but good taste often means knowing when to ignore the average. A human can sense that what works for a tech startup won't work for a law firm, even if the data suggests otherwise.
Algorithmic logic versus emotional intelligence: AI processes metrics such as engagement rates and click-through percentages, but it cannot comprehend the emotional undercurrents that drive authentic human responses. It can optimise for attention but not for genuine connection.
Historical analysis versus cultural moment timing: AI analyses past trends to predict future ones, but humans can sense emerging cultural shifts through lived experience. That "spark of human innovation" that Sarah McDevitt referenced cannot be programmed.
Literal interpretation versus subtext understanding: AI reads the words and analyses the data, but humans understand what's really being communicated - the tone, the implications, the cultural references that create more profound meaning.
Who Really Decides Good Taste
Good taste isn't arbitrary - it emerges from complex cultural negotiations:
Professional communities and their unwritten rules: Every industry has aesthetic and communication norms that aren't written down anywhere but are understood by insiders. Knowing these rules and when to break them requires human experience within those communities.
Regional, generational, and cultural preferences: What resonates with Gen Z in London differs from what works with Baby Boomers in Manchester. AI can segment by demographics, but humans understand the cultural nuances within those segments.
The tension between popular taste and sophisticated discernment: Sometimes good taste means going against popular opinion because you understand longer-term cultural trajectories. This requires judgment that transcends current data.
Shared cultural understanding: Good taste often depends on references and contexts that are understood implicitly within cultural groups. These shared understandings create bonds that algorithmic analysis cannot manufacture.
Good Taste in Professional Services
For consultants, advisors, and professional services firms, good taste manifests as understanding the cultural fit between your approach and your clients' worlds:
Knowing when understated professionalism beats flashy marketing: A top-tier legal firm and a creative agency require completely different aesthetic approaches, even when targeting similar client segments.
Understanding industry-specific communication norms: What feels innovative in tech might feel inappropriate in finance. Good taste means calibrating your approach to match cultural expectations while still standing out.
Sensing client readiness for different approaches: Some clients require gentle guidance towards new ideas, while others prefer direct challenge. This judgment call cannot be automated.
Balancing personal authenticity with professional appropriateness: Good taste in professional services means expressing your personality in ways that enhance rather than undermine your credibility.
The Human-AI Synthesis
The future isn't about choosing between human taste and AI efficiency - it's about combining the two:
AI provides the data; humans provide the judgment: Let AI tell you what has performed well but use human discernment to decide what feels right for your specific context and moment.
AI optimises execution, whilst humans provide curatorial vision: Use AI to handle production and optimisation but maintain human control over strategic decisions regarding direction and tone.
AI scales production, humans ensure quality: AI can create volume, but human taste ensures that volume maintains authenticity and cultural resonance.
The brands that thrive will be those that use AI as a powerful tool whilst maintaining human oversight of taste-based decisions. They'll leverage technology for efficiency whilst preserving the human qualities that create genuine connection.
The Clarity Advantage
In my conversations with business leaders across the professional services sector and elsewhere, I see a similar pattern emerging. Those who understand their unique taste advantages - their ability to sense what resonates with their specific audiences - are positioning themselves for sustainable competitive advantage.
The businesses that will thrive in this AI-enhanced world are those gaining clarity now about:
What constitutes good taste within their industry and client base
How to maintain human judgment whilst leveraging AI efficiency
Where their personal discernment creates the most value
How to develop and trust their cultural intuition
What makes their approach authentically different from AI-generated alternatives
This isn't about rejecting AI - it's about understanding how human taste and AI capability work together to create outcomes neither could achieve alone.
The Moment of Truth
We're at a crossroads where good taste transforms from a nice-to-have into a business-critical capability. As AI handles more of the execution, human discernment about what to execute becomes the ultimate differentiator.
That £1,500 Chanel handbag taught me something important: good taste isn't about following rules or spending money - it's about understanding context, authenticity, and what truly lasts. In business, as in fashion, the brands that understand this distinction will be the ones that endure.
Good taste becomes your competitive killer punch because it cannot be copied, automated, or commoditised. It emerges from lived experience, cultural understanding, and the uniquely human ability to sense what resonates beyond what data can capture.
The question for your business is simple: in a world where everyone has access to the same AI tools, what distinctly human qualities will set you apart?
This is the first of a series of Human First AI articles exploring what AI can do and what it cannot, and how we, as humans, can navigate this and define our competitive advantage. Be sure to subscribe to this newsletter so you don't miss the next one.
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I wrote this article using Claude as my thinking partner. I use a complex prompt that helps me write each piece, including numerous tough questions and a 5-step process. DM me, and if you book The Intentional Clarity Reset with me, I'll let you have a copy.
