Good taste matters even more in the age of AI
As AI commoditises everything, taste becomes the remaining differentiator.
Thanks to AI, anyone can be a writer, poet, artist, or designer with the click of a few key strokes. While the democratisation of creativity may at first glance seem like a net positive for society, it could be detrimental to the development of good taste.
In this article, I’ll be exploring:
What is good taste?
What does good taste look like?
How do you develop good taste?
The AI good taste conundrum
Be a tastemaker
What is good taste?
Discussing good taste can be complex because it is inherently subjective. It’s shaped and defined by personal experiences, time, cultural, and societal norms. What one generation considers good taste might be seen as outdated or even bad in another — take ankle socks worn by millennials.
Good taste is most pertinent to the creative fields such as painting, design, music, fashion, and literature. Areas where AI is now starting to have a significant impact.
Even defining good taste is a tricky endeavour, one that I will leave to the experts.
From entrepreneur Seth Godin:
“Good taste is knowing what your audience will like just before they do.”
From actor Stanley Tucci:
“I think our palates become more sophisticated as we get older—if we allow them to. I know a lot of people who are full-grown adults and still have the taste buds of an eight-year-old. How do you go through life like that?”
From philosopher David Hume:
“Good taste is rare, yet it is not a matter of whim... Taste might be defined as the talent of discriminating in works of art between those elements which should please sensitive souls and those which should shock them."
What does good taste look like?
One aspect of good taste is understanding the rules and principles that govern that field.
In photography, we have the rule of thirds — see image below.
In painting, there are guides to composition such as the golden ratio — see image below.
In music, you have the famous I–V–vi–IV progression used in numerous songs ranging from Bad Blood by Taylor Swift to Africa by ToTo.
In visual design, there are a several principles — see image below.
Only when you’ve mastered the basics, are you able to break them and create something unique. Pablo Picasso epitomises this belief, with his famous quote:
It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.
How do you develop good taste?
Unlike AI chatbot replies, good taste isn’t instant. In fact, it’s the complete opposite, it’s a gradual process that requires effort, patience, and time.
There’s no definitive method for developing good taste, but it usually involves:
Exposure to the field — visiting art galleries immerse yourself in works of art.
Learning the principles and rules — understanding the importance of composition, balance, and technique.
Studying the classics — absorbing the works of artists like Picasso, Monet, and Renoir, to witness the aforementioned principles and rules.
The AI good taste conundrum
As more people use AI to instantly generate art, bypassing the effort and time need to develop good taste, there’s a risk that good taste slowly erodes away, allowing AI generated art to became the mediocre standard we accept.
One could argue that I’m in favour of gate keeping the creative arts and AI fear mongering, that is certainly not my intention. I strongly believe in harnessing the power of AI to free us of mundane tasks, not to replace the arduous but fulfilling process of creating art. The viral quote below elegantly sums up my position — see image below.
To further explore the AI good taste conundrum, I want you to compare the two poems below. One is by a real poet, the other is generated by ChatGPT.
Let me know in the poll below, which one you like better. I’ll reveal which is which at the very end of this article.
Poem A
I want you to bite my lip until I can no longer speak
And then suck my ex-girlfriend’s name out of my mouth just to make sure she never comes up in our conversations
I’m going to be honest, I’m not really a love poet
In fact, every time I try to write about love my hands cramp… just to show me how painful love can be
And sometimes my pencils break, just to prove to me that every now and then love takes a little more work than you planned
See I heard that love is blind so, I write all my poems in Braille
Poem B
I love you like the pause before a thought,
that quiet moment when nothing needs to be said.
You’re the reason I’ve started noticing small things—
the way sunlight bends or how ink dries on paper.
Your presence doesn’t ask to be felt,
but I catch it anyway, like the scent of rain before it falls.
If poetry isn’t your thing, we have another experiment but with paintings.
Again, let me know in the poll below which painting you like better.
Painting A
Painting B
Be a tastemaker
While this article focused on good taste specifically in relation to the creative arts, good taste matters just as much in both startups and corporations.
Apple, for the most part, has been a stellar tastemaker in both hardware and software design. Apple’s good taste has been widely mimicked, think the iPhone, iPad, AirPods. This copying has even extended to Apple’s keynotes slides — see images below.
As for startups, I would highlight Figma as a leading tastemaker. After all, one would expect a design tool built for designers to demonstrate good taste.
As AI-generated content continues to proliferate, having good taste will become an increasingly valuable skill, setting apart those who can distinguish exceptional quality from mediocrity.
Things that caught my attention
'AI godmother' Fei-Fei Li raises $230 million to launch AI startup - Reuters
Is everyone pretending to understand inflation (or just me)? (podcast) - Search Engine
In Venezuela, AI news anchors aren’t replacing journalists. They’re protecting them - CNN
The Booming Business of Boba (YouTube) - Modern MBA
Is it generated by AI or is it real?
Poem A is by Rudy Francisco.
Poem B is AI generated.
Painting A is AI generated.
Painting B is by Claude Monet.
Sigh of relief as I read the answers 😂