Just to make it clear, by database I don’t literally mean any electronic database. You can think of it as a set or a collection. But dataset gives you the easy frame or analogy to think about it.

Some data sets are such that they have public access, and almost anyone can attempt to populate information in them. They become huge, and a way to emerge as someone who is winning in this data set is to appease the ranking algorithm. These can be thought of as:

• Government bidding portals and thousands of bids that ensue

• The internet at large and Google search engine results

• Job postings and hundreds of applications

This dataset makes life hard because you have to stand out among thousands. You have to cater not only to your own interests but also whatever might be ranking you or retrieving information about you in this whole dataset. Previously, the bottleneck was that people would have to interface with these types of databases manually. But now, in the era of agents, I think these things are functionally defunct. The content that will be inside this database will not be authentic enough, it will not be differentiated enough. On the other hand, the volume would be so huge that even for the participants, it won’t make sense since the chances of standing out might be low.

But these are not the only datasets that exist. There are many more private databases that exist. Where putting your entry is not as easy and accessible. These can be thought of as:

• Being part of a good professional network

• Being an authority figure in people’s minds.

I think these are the things which we cannot brute force using AI agents. You have to be human for this. The more number of datasets you are in when it comes to these ones, you will be fine.

In a world where everything is being automated, the power does not lie in you also committing to automations. You are just going for the rest to the bottom, finding a refugee in commoditization. That’s the wrong move. This is the era where things which won’t be commoditized or automated are where you should be pouring your efforts. Public, algorithmically-mediated datasets are becoming flooded and devalued, while private, trust-based networks are becoming more valuable precisely because they resist automation.

Basically, AI and AI agents are devaluating certain public datasets by utilizing those same models in those depreciating venues. Does not seem wise to you? You’re just accelerating your own devaluation. Reach out to people, email people, talk with them. There are billions of us, a lot of them would like you, a lot of them would love to have you on their team. Widen your view of what constitutes as an opportunity. Even getting to talk with a homeless man is an opportunity, a privilege that you must value. Give human connection the recognition it deserves.