Working Theory · № 25

The Human Signal Premium

6 May 2026 · 1 min read · AI · Relationships · Trust · Leadership · Future

In the AI era, human relationships may become more important, not less.

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Because we are entering a world where it becomes harder and harder to tell what is real.

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The message you read
may be AI-generated.

The voice on the phone
may be AI-generated.

The video you watch
may not even contain a real person anymore.

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And honestly, most of the time, we probably won’t be able to tell.

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As AI becomes better at sounding human,
looking human,

and behaving human,

the value of actual human connection increases.

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Not random interaction.

Real connection.

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People you truly know.

People with shared history.
Shared memories.

Shared experiences.

People you have gone through life with.

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Because trust in the future may no longer come from polish, intelligence, or presentation.

Those things are becoming cheap.

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Trust may increasingly come from something much harder to fake:

History.

Consistency.

Presence over time.

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The people who were there before the AI wave.

The people you know are real.

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And I think that changes both life and business.

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In a world full of artificial signals,

real human relationships become premium signals.

The Human Signal Premium — figure 1