This person's comment has been on my mind all day. Most people, myself included, have probably felt similar emotions after reading "Something Big Is Happening." The anxiety of a future where AI will replace me (or rather, it seems like it has already replaced me). And what I'll do to make a living in that future... I'm worried, but my children and grandchildren, who still don't know anything, are understandably even more worried. Well, do I really have the answers to such a ridiculous future? However, I've gathered my limited experience and knowledge to reflect on the future ahead and write a short piece. My writing should be viewed as a simple "So there are people who think this way..." or "Oh, that person thinks this way..." I believe that if I listen to the opinions of many people interested in this future, I'll find the answers there. I. When technology hit rock bottom, the standard of value was overturned. We live in an era where most features can be replicated in a matter of days using AI and open source. When I see a company announce a "revolutionary feature," I immediately think, "Other companies will soon replicate this." The blockchain market I work in is a microcosm of this phenomenon. When Uniswap shook up the market with its AMM DEX, Sushiswap immediately emerged, followed by countless other variations like PancakeSwap on the BNB chain, QuickSwap on Polygon, and Raydium on Solana. And it's not just DEXs. Lending, NFTs, gaming, privacy, L1/L2. Just change the category name, and the structure of most protocols within it is practically copy-and-paste. This is because code is duplicable in this open source market. Everything from tokenomics to UI/UX, even the phrase "revolutionary roadmap" is copied. So... the statement, "Our technology is different from others," has lost its persuasive power and is still losing its force. The era when the technological gap guaranteed the value gap is quietly coming to an end. II. Emotions Exploding on Technology Fatigue, and Memes In 2021 and 2022, the market endlessly clamored for technology. New L1, modular, Layer 2, zero-knowledge, sophisticated tokenomics, and a dazzling VC lineup. Slides and whitepapers became increasingly flashy, and the adjective "innovative" became increasingly cheap. But as time passed, the following market landscape remained: - Few people read the whitepapers to the end. - Project roadmaps were delayed, revised, and blurred. - VCs liquidated their holdings at the TGE or peak and exited first. - The sentiment of individual investors remaining in the market can be summarized in one line: "I was the only one who was sincere, and only insiders made money." And what filled this emotional vacuum was memecoin. Memecoins even soared to market capitalizations of billions of dollars. Ironically, they had almost nothing in common. - No grand vision, - No complex white paper, - No partnerships with prominent VCs or institutions. Instead of exaggerated promises of "changing the world," they simply openly admitted they were "jokes." This led many to believe, "If it's all speculation anyway, wouldn't it be better to have a coin that honestly admits it's a joke from the start?" Memecoins weren't simply investments; they became a collective backlash against the VC-driven technology narrative. As the terms "technology," "innovation," and "partnership" lost credibility, people became more openly attracted to "a puppy meme, a frog meme." It sounded like a joke, but the underlying sentiment was: "At least they're not trying to fool me." Of course, most meme coins that exploded in 2024 and early 2025 are now seeing zero trading volume and rapidly waning interest. However, amidst this noise, one truth stands out: Technology is endlessly copied, but memes, communities, and cultures are not. As technology becomes more standardized, people's attention begins to shift beyond technology itself. This is because technology is no longer scarce. III. What Can Be Copied and What Can't At this point, the question changes: "What will be truly scarce in the future market, where technology becomes commonplace?" Paul Graham of Y Combinator said, "Do things that don't scale." In the early days, Airbnb personally visited New York hosts to take photos of their properties, and Stripe's founders went directly to client offices to help integrate payment systems. This wasn't about code, but relationships. The reputation you've built over a decade, the network you've built through hundreds of meetings and conversations, the feeling that comes to mind when your name is mentioned: "Oh, that person is trustworthy." These aren't created with a few prompts. British anthropologist Robin Dunbar argues that the number of meaningful relationships humans can sustain is around 150. The multi-layered structure of meaningful relationships—the five closest, then 15, then 50, and finally 150—exhibits the capacity of the human brain's trust network. In this context, trust isn't a single event, but rather a cumulative chain of repeated experiences. "This person keeps their promises." "This team doesn't run away when times get tough." "This project is long-term." These beliefs are built through the accumulation of dozens or hundreds of small interactions. Meanwhile, in "The Long Tail," Chris Anderson describes an era in which digital technology has reduced marginal costs to near zero, enabling infinite supply. In the offline era, where physical space was limited, everything focused on "blockbuster products." However, in the digital age, it's said that rare items, those with specific tastes and contexts, will command a true premium. We can now divide our assets into the following categories: - Code, design, and functionality: These can be copied. - Traffic and follower counts: These can be bought with money. - Specs that seem promising: These can be quickly packaged. Conversely, the following are virtually impossible to replicate: - Proven reputation: You can buy 10,000 GitHub stars, but the perception that "if that person makes something, I trust them" requires years of consistent behavior. - Trust network: You can create 100,000 followers with advertising, but you can't buy 50 people who will actually call you for help. - Human connection: GPT can create funny jokes, but the warmth of a single word that captures the timing, situation, and even the other person's condition is not easily replicated. As technology democratizes, inequality begins with assets that cannot be replicated. By February 2026, AI will be able to create hundreds of apps a day. But things like reputation, trust, relationships, and culture only accumulate by 0.001 per day. However, that 0.001 accumulates through compound interest. IV. Technology is Leveling Out, but You Don't Have to AI continues to churn out new apps, features, and products every day. Tomorrow, those features will be replicated by another team, and something else, with a slightly different appearance, will hit the market. But in the meantime, there are things that quietly accumulate. The number of people "willing to help" when you ask. The subtle shift in the air in a conference room when your name is mentioned. The mental priorities of those who naturally think of you in a crisis. These aren't recommended by algorithms, not appearing in search results, and aren't generated by prompts. The pace at which your reputation, relationships, culture, and community build will be much slower than the pace at which technology becomes standardized. Because of this slowness, many people give up midway. And precisely because of this slowness, only a small number of people remain. Ultimately, what AI cannot replicate is "that feeling that makes you want to work with me again." That feeling doesn't come out of nowhere. Today's 0.001 meets tomorrow's 0.001, creating the person you will be a few years from now. Technology creates people who fight and win quickly. However, what allows you to live a long life are those things that accumulate slowly but are difficult to replicate. The choices you make today may be a very personal decision about which stat to raise.