Essay
February 18th, 2025
Taste In A Generative World
JULIANA NORTH
JULIANA NORTH
687 words
4 min. read
Artificial intelligence has arrived not with spectacle, but with abundance. The world is filling with essays, images, songs, and lines of code produced in seconds. What once required specialized training is now within reach of anyone who can type a prompt. The result is not a shortage of creativity, but a flood of it.
Artificial intelligence has arrived not with spectacle, but with abundance. The world is filling with essays, images, songs, and lines of code produced in seconds. What once required specialized training is now within reach of anyone who can type a prompt. The result is not a shortage of creativity, but a flood of it.
In this flood, the rarest quality is no longer the ability to produce. It is the ability to choose. When every variation is a click away, the skill that matters most is knowing which version rises above the rest, which idea deserves refining, and which direction aligns with something deeper than technical adequacy. This is taste, and it is becoming the most valuable resource of all.
In this flood, the rarest quality is no longer the ability to produce. It is the ability to choose. When every variation is a click away, the skill that matters most is knowing which version rises above the rest, which idea deserves refining, and which direction aligns with something deeper than technical adequacy. This is taste, and it is becoming the most valuable resource of all.
Taste has always mattered in design, art, and culture, but in the age of generative technology it becomes a core business competency. Ask an AI for ten options and most will be good enough. A few will even look excellent at first glance. But only one will carry the weight of rightness—the version that feels inevitable, the one that creates momentum. AI cannot tell you which it is. It cannot sense resonance, or decide when something moves from impressive to essential. That responsibility belongs to the human who is willing to keep pushing when the machine declares a task complete.
Taste has always mattered in design, art, and culture, but in the age of generative technology it becomes a core business competency. Ask an AI for ten options and most will be good enough. A few will even look excellent at first glance. But only one will carry the weight of rightness—the version that feels inevitable, the one that creates momentum. AI cannot tell you which it is. It cannot sense resonance, or decide when something moves from impressive to essential. That responsibility belongs to the human who is willing to keep pushing when the machine declares a task complete.
The best leaders, editors, and creators have always relied on this instinct. They know when to say no. They know when something polished is still not finished. Now this discernment expands well beyond traditional creative fields. Software, services, and brands alike will rise or fall on taste. Two companies may have identical access to AI. One will flood the market with competent but forgettable output. The other will stand apart by shaping the same tools through a sharper eye and a stronger sense of what their audience truly values.
The best leaders, editors, and creators have always relied on this instinct. They know when to say no. They know when something polished is still not finished. Now this discernment expands well beyond traditional creative fields. Software, services, and brands alike will rise or fall on taste. Two companies may have identical access to AI. One will flood the market with competent but forgettable output. The other will stand apart by shaping the same tools through a sharper eye and a stronger sense of what their audience truly values.
The disappearance of technical barriers makes this more important, not less. When anyone can produce at speed, the question becomes how to stand out. Features can be copied. Execution can be matched. What cannot be copied is the feeling a product creates—the way it looks, the way it carries itself, the style it signals, the restraint it shows. Taste is what gives shape to differentiation once the moat of technology is gone.
The disappearance of technical barriers makes this more important, not less. When anyone can produce at speed, the question becomes how to stand out. Features can be copied. Execution can be matched. What cannot be copied is the feeling a product creates—the way it looks, the way it carries itself, the style it signals, the restraint it shows. Taste is what gives shape to differentiation once the moat of technology is gone.
We already see this dynamic in fashion. Access to well-made clothing has never been more universal, yet style remains the defining separator. Taste turns materials into identity. The same will hold true for software and digital products. When everyone has the same tools, the winners will be those who use them to build with clarity, to create experiences that feel deliberate rather than generic.
We already see this dynamic in fashion. Access to well-made clothing has never been more universal, yet style remains the defining separator. Taste turns materials into identity. The same will hold true for software and digital products. When everyone has the same tools, the winners will be those who use them to build with clarity, to create experiences that feel deliberate rather than generic.
Taste is not simply preference. It is strategic judgment. It is the ability to reject the acceptable in pursuit of the exceptional, even when the acceptable would be easier and faster. It is knowing when not to automate, when not to add another feature, when not to follow the market’s loudest signals. It is the discipline of building less, but building with precision.
Taste is not simply preference. It is strategic judgment. It is the ability to reject the acceptable in pursuit of the exceptional, even when the acceptable would be easier and faster. It is knowing when not to automate, when not to add another feature, when not to follow the market’s loudest signals. It is the discipline of building less, but building with precision.
The encouraging part is that taste can be cultivated. Exposure to excellence sharpens it. Critical feedback strengthens it. The willingness to discard even good work in search of something better develops it. In practice, taste grows through repetition—by continually evaluating, curating, and refining until patterns of quality become instinct. Organizations that treat taste as a skill to be developed, rather than a luxury for designers, will find themselves better equipped to navigate a world of infinite output.
The encouraging part is that taste can be cultivated. Exposure to excellence sharpens it. Critical feedback strengthens it. The willingness to discard even good work in search of something better develops it. In practice, taste grows through repetition—by continually evaluating, curating, and refining until patterns of quality become instinct. Organizations that treat taste as a skill to be developed, rather than a luxury for designers, will find themselves better equipped to navigate a world of infinite output.
The age of generative tools does not reduce the value of human judgment. It amplifies it. The leaders who will define categories in the coming years are not those who generate the most, but those who can discern with the greatest clarity. They will use AI to explore possibilities, but they will rely on taste to decide what is worth carrying forward.
The age of generative tools does not reduce the value of human judgment. It amplifies it. The leaders who will define categories in the coming years are not those who generate the most, but those who can discern with the greatest clarity. They will use AI to explore possibilities, but they will rely on taste to decide what is worth carrying forward.
When everything can be created, the true advantage lies in knowing what should be created. Taste, not production, becomes the scarce resource. And those who cultivate it will hold the edge in a world where abundance is the new default.
When everything can be created, the true advantage lies in knowing what should be created. Taste, not production, becomes the scarce resource. And those who cultivate it will hold the edge in a world where abundance is the new default.
-North
-North
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Taste In A Generative World
Essay
February 18th, 2025