Marketing and humanity

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

You will never believe or expect that this article would come from a marketing professional. But then again, this is the way he thinks and operates, and it is the same reason why I would rate him as one of the top five marketing gurus in the world. I even pitched him to be featured in the world-famous Business Leadership Conference in New York. I hope he gets invited.

Let’s look at Mark Schaefer and peek into his thoughts through an article he wrote on his website. Mark says:

I recently participated in a research project that gathered input from futurists on how AI will change humanity by 2030. Of course, nobody can foresee what this AI world will be like five months from now, let alone five years from now, but it was a great exercise that yielded some consensus among the experts.

But this pushed my thinking in a different way. If we are to consider how AI is changing humanity, what exactly is humanity?

If we think back to a human existence 200 or 300 years ago, a human adult would have had three primary goals:

1.    Don’t die

2.    Find food/shelter

3.    Have babies

Is that how our ancestors would have defined humanity?

Today, when we think about AI impacting “humanity,” we might reference the impact on our careers, our privacy or our purpose in life. We might be worried about the impact of AI on our schools, democracy or relationships. But is that humanity?

Today, I want to strip away the pretense of modern life and explore what the intrusion of AI might mean to our humanity — and by extension, our businesses.

Question: What does not change?

In the early days of Amazon, Wired magazine interviewed Jeff Bezos and asked him what new technology excited him the most. Amazon was revolutionizing e-commerce, but Bezos took the interview in another direction.

“Changing technology is interesting,” he said, “but what is even more interesting is what will not change, because that’s how you build a business. I find it impossible to consider that in ten years our customers will want higher prices, less selection or slower delivery. Our success comes from focusing on the factors that never change.”

His insight is even truer today as we face the future with our new AI masters.

Instead of focusing on change, the most robust businesses will serve the elements of humanity that will not change.

There is certainly a lot of hyperbole around AI and its implications. But I trust the view of an insider like Satya Nadella of Microsoft when he says AI is the most profound development in history — more important than fire, electricity or the internet.

So, in this hurricane-force environment, how do you build a durable business?

Let’s take a page from the Bezos Playbook.

If we strip away the pretense and pressure of the modern world, what about humanity will never change? Here’s a starter list:

Safety

Love

Connection and community

Creativity

Compassion

Contentment/peace

Health

Family

Spirituality/Spiritual longing

Curiosity

Ritual

Autonomy/freedom

Hope

If your business is serving one of these needs, you’re probably in good shape, no matter what happens with AI. Similarly, if AI were to threaten any of these characteristics, you could create a durable business by keeping these aspects of humanity.

Let’s put this into practice. What are the new threats to personal safety?

•     Deep fakes

•     Cyber attacks

•     Attacks on the electrical grid or water system

•     Hacks into credit cards and bank accounts

These threats will not disappear anytime soon.

Why hasn’t someone invented a hack-proof credit card that can only be activated by a fingerprint or iris scan? There’s a growing niche industry providing insurance against cyberattacks. That’s smart.

Let’s try another one: Curiosity

Why not package a service that lets AI create custom novels based on your interests and favorite characters?

Open a creator hub where people could take classes in ancient arts like glassblowing or woodcraft — all in one place.

I love the app that helps me identify birds by their songs and calls. But it poses such a limit on my curiosity.

Why not turn it into a network that can alert me to new bird sightings in my neighborhood, or create gamified bird-collection teams?

Another way to look at this is to mash up your current products with human needs to reimagine your business value.

Let’s say you own a bakery specializing in unique, delicious cookies. How can you position your cookies to appeal to basic human needs such as love, community, creativity, health or ritual? You get the idea now.

Building a durable business relies on serving persistent human needs. Strip away the centuries-old veneers of social performance and focus on the needs that never change.

End of Mark Schaefer’s article.

I’ve read all of Mark Schaefer’s books and followed him for years. Now he’s here in person! Catch him as our featured speaker at SpeakersCon, Feb. 11, at SPACE, One Ayala.

Join Francis Kong at SpeakersCon 2026, a one-day experience designed for leaders, educators, executives, and professionals who want to communicate with clarity, credibility and purpose. Happening on Feb. 11, at SPACE, One Ayala Makati. Gain practical insights on leadership, influence and authentic communication in today’s evolving landscape.  For inquiries, email us at [email protected] or send us a direct message at facebook.com