When Pretty Becomes Cheap

As AI masters aesthetics, the differentiator becomes the quality of the content and context that fuels it.

Note: this post is coming a day late as yesterday got away from me. It’s a topic that’s been on my mind a bunch lately...hope you enjoy the read

I continue to be blown away by the amazing things AI can create from a simple text prompt. It can spin up high-quality websites, generate breathtaking images, and design complex infographics in seconds. If you follow me on X or LinkedIn, you’ve seen me having a blast playing with tools like Nano Banana, turning whimsical ideas into vibrant realities.

The barrier to creating something that looks professionally made is collapsing. Not long ago, the bottleneck was craft. It took hours, days, or even weeks for a skilled designer or artist to produce what AI can now generate in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee.

But this new reality presents a fascinating shift. When anyone can create a beautiful image or a sleek website, the visuals themselves are no longer the differentiator. The bottleneck has moved. It’s no longer about the technical skill of creation; it’s about the quality of the ideas. But I think it’s even deeper than that. When aesthetics become a commodity, substance becomes the ultimate currency.

Context is the New Code

This hit home for me recently when I was showing a coworker my revamped personal website. I explained how it was generated from a single, initial prompt. Sure, I did some iteration in AI Studio to perfect certain aspects, but the first pass got me 80% of the way there.

The magic, however, wasn’t just in the prompt itself. The prompt was powered by a three-page Google Doc I had written, which provided all the context: my projects, my writing, my professional experiences. The AI transformed this raw information into a polished, functional website.

My coworker’s response stopped me in my tracks. She said, “That’s awesome, but what’s important to remember is that you were the person behind all of this context. You did all of those things. This is all your real, lived experience powering what we’re seeing.”

She was right. The AI was the tool, but the value was in the years of work that filled that document. The website looked great, but its strength came from the substance underneath.

Sir Elf and the Power of Personal Datasets

This idea extends beyond professional portfolios. It’s about the unique data we all generate just by living.

For the past few years, my family has had a December tradition. We hide “Sir Elf” (our Elf on the Shelf), for our kids to find each morning. I snap a photo of his hiding spot and write a fun caption. This will be our fourth year doing it.

Without realizing it, I’ve been creating a unique, personal dataset: four years’ worth of images and stories chronicling my children’s holidays and Sir Elf’s mischievous antics.

Now, with AI, this simple collection of memories becomes a creative goldmine. I can take that data and instantly transform it into new forms:

• A series of custom storybooks for my kids.

• The images re-rendered as beautiful watercolor illustrations.

• A claymation-style holiday video starring Sir Elf…

I’m excited by the new ways I’ll be able to transform this content, but the core of it - the reason it has any meaning - is that we created those memories together as a family. The value isn’t just in the AI’s final output; it’s in the real-world, lived experiences the AI is drawing from.

Invest in the Raw Materials

As it becomes trivially easy to make things look good, how do you stand out?

One answer is to focus on the thing AI can’t generate on its own: authentic, lived experience and deep, meaningful content. The tools are getting better at surfacing and transforming information, but they need high-quality raw materials to work with.

Context is king. In this new world, that means the unique data, the hard-won insights, and the genuine memories you create can become your most valuable assets. Spend your time creating those experiences, doing the hard work, and living a life that generates a story worth telling.

Because in the end, that’s the content that will truly matter.