Einstein said that the five levels of cognitive abilities are in ascending order: smart, smart, smart, genius, genius and Simple. AI may surpass our transcendence in computing genius, but human proficiency lies in finding simplicity.
As Packy McCormick pointed out in this newsletter, progress is making things that were once rare universal. Those who win the scene are becoming the merchandise, and what will remain valuable. Although some human abilities may be commodified by machines, human beings themselves, and our basic human qualities (creativeness, judgment, empathy…). With the expansion of AI capabilities, this version explores what remains unique to humans.
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The latest episode of Propellic Travel Marketing Compass Podcast is composed of Intrepid Travel's inaugural U.S. President Leigh Barnes and Propellic founder Brennen Bliss. They discuss brave marketing strategies, how to connect with modern travelers and how to stay ahead of the changing industry. Listen to valuable insights that may change the approach in 2025 and beyond: Travel Marketing Compass Podcast
One experiment provides 118 financial professionals with a hypothetical $1 million for tomorrow's Wall Street Journal's front page to trade stocks and bonds. Half of professional investors lost money, and some went bankrupt. Even knowing tomorrow's headlines, they only guessed that the market moved 51.5% of the time, with an average return of only 3.2%. Among 1,500 online players, the results were even worse: median loss of 30%, 36% bankruptcy. Read + Elm.
I played online and fortunately got the supposed $105,000 growth rate (10.5%) with a 57% winning deal. My biggest win came from a mistake, I clicked on “long” instead of “short” (it turned out to be “long” is correct). You can try here.
When someone says they can predict travel trends with certainty, remember that knowing what will happen is only the first step. It is really important how you take action on this information.
Boom Supersonic's XB-1 demonstration aircraft broke three sound barriers in a 33-minute test flight on January 28, marking the first civilian jet since Concorde that broke a Mach 1 sound barrier. The company's deliberative aircraft aims to fly to 65-80 passengers at Mach 1.7, which is twice the speed of today's commercial, making it possible to fly from Los Angeles to Honolulu in 3 hours, or within 4 hours Fly to Washington, DC. Boom Overture has received 130 orders and bookings from American Airlines, Japan Airlines and United Airlines.
But commercial success can be trickier. Airlines operating hybrid supersonic and multi-level subsonic fleets will require new pricing strategies, which Concorde's challenge has never been completely solved. The previous generation default was super luxury pricing, 20% higher than first class. Boom Supersonic founder Blake Scholl believes that the market with 1,000 economically viable supersonic aircraft may have a market with passengers’ “payment standard, affordable commercial-grade fares”, which is a major Transformation can reshape advanced air travel economics. Read + Runway Girl
As I wrote in my previous newsletter, we might be involved in two types of web design: one is built for AI efficiency (such as booking flights), and the other is used for human experience ( entertainment, social). Tomasz Tunguz tested an open source AI agent for booking flights. exist This videothe agent navigates in the pop-up window, makes mistakes by clicking on the SEO-optimized link, backtracking, and finally extracting the required flight data. Twenty years after building complex websites for humans, we may see returning plain text, but for AI agents, as AI thrives in simplicity. Microsoft recently released library Convert various documents into AI-friendly text. Read + tomasz tunguz.
“The better the AI execution, the fewer websites I will visit. If the future of the network is exactly how it is launched: What should I do if the plain text website? But the text of a robot is not the text of a human” – Tomasz Tunguz
As you know, OpenAI recently announced the carrier, an AI proxy that can perform online tasks directly through a browser without a special API. Early travel partners include Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Hipcamp, and Priceline. The tool uses the same interface for booking flights, accommodations and experiences using humans. Currently available to US Chatgpt Pro users ($200 per month), the operator is built to handle multiple reservations simultaneously while allowing users to control payments and CAPTCHA. Read + MIT Technology Review.
Sounds like screen scratch 2.0. I think somewhere in Dublin, Ryanair’s legal team has already drafted its next battle plan by unauthorized screen grabbing its website.
Rory Sutherland pointed out something that can confuse people with awareness efficiency: physical direct mail is still very good and outperforms many other customer acquisition channels. Its rarity has become its power. Direct Mail creates urgency through its perceived scarcity and investment signals to client relationships. Read + Rory Sutherland.
For travel companies fixed on digital channels, here is a counter-trend opportunity. Since direct mail is counterculture, most competitors won't copy you. Sometimes, the “inefficient” choice can be strategically clever.
Production for Mars Performance How flight booking UX uses psychology to influence pricing. The first search may require 9-11 clicks, but the returned user only needs one, i.e., establishing brand loyalty in multiple meetings. Loading screens are not just for display… They remind users of the efforts they have made (climbing up hundreds of airlines, looking for deals) and making the service more valuable. Their analysis is also compared with Expedia's Chatgpt interface, which indicates higher flights using stopovers. Current AI may find flights, but a well-designed interface makes us more confident in our choices and more willing to pay for them (for now).
Packy McCormick offers a broader view of human dynamics: unique human traits become more valuable as AI commoditized computing skills. Just as Einstein needed Grossman’s mathematical expertise to develop relativity, today’s innovators can use AI to handle complex computing while focusing on breakthrough insights. Read + Boring.
The history of progress is the continuous commodification of things that were once snapped up. Commodification is a compound mechanism […] Its biggest beneficiaries are those who recognize that what is being commodified and the consequences will become possible or precious […] Humans are not commodified. Some things we think can only be done are. – Packy McCormick
In the example of flight search, AI can compare thousands of prices, but humans can (again…for now) have a brilliant understanding of the delicate tradeoffs between cost, comfort, and convenience.
This coincides with what you told me in the poll in the previous newsletter, where 68% of them thought AI agents would add a new ecosystem layer instead of replacing existing players. For travel companies, this suggests a focus on unique human elements (designing pleasant experiences, expecting unexplained customer needs, etc.), while using AI to handle the heavy lifting of data processing and analytics.
Alexis Batlle (founder of Avuxi) aligns with our discussions on UX and people-centered design, analysing how Booking.com builds trust through location data. While others just pin the hotel to the map, booking layer information: digital scores, guest reviews, exact distance (“150m from the beach”) and neighborhood insights. Most travelers seem to care: 70% of the comments mention location first. This shows the smart people design at work; the location context is not only a data point, but also a series of subtle tips that give us confidence in booking decisions. Read + avuxi
The launch of DeepSeek triggered an interesting observation by Greg Isenberg. Just a few weeks ago, the “GPT Packer” startup was seen as low-priced and unsustainable. But as more and more players (DeepSeek, Meta, Anthropic, Microsoft) fight on model performance, packaging companies may quietly build the most important thing: interface loyalty. Just as AWS makes servers a commodity (Enable Airbnb and Uber), the AI model is also being commoditized. The winners won’t be those with the best model, but those who build the simplest interface for a particular problem. Success may not come from proprietary AI, but from creating an interface that becomes the way users plan and book travel. Read + Greg Isenberg.
Discovered on Twitter: An airline's model offers passengers in middle seats the option to “unlock two handrails” for $120. We're not there yet…but give it time. Some airlines may pay attention.
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Mauricio Prieto
