Be Singular in the Face of the Singularity

In 1963, a losing high school high jumper in Medford, Oregon, turned his back to the bar and went over headfirst. People laughed. Coaches told him to stop. Five years later Dick Fosbury won Olympic gold, and today nobody jumps any other way.

That is the story of what it means to be singular, and it has never mattered more. AI can now produce competent creative work instantly, for anyone, at almost no cost. It is the ultimate cover band, able to play every song ever written in any style on request. What it cannot do is write your song.

In this episode, Todd explains what the singularity actually is, what it means to become singular in the face of it, and why the first principle of VERVE from The Infinite Lever, voice, is the foundation of standing out. Drawing on the core ideas from his book Louder Than Words, he walks through the five elements of a voice that cannot be imitated: authenticity, which means putting skin in the game; uniqueness, which means building on the pillars where your passion, skills, and experience overlap; precision, which means saying exactly what you mean instead of the general thing AI does so well; empathy, which means creating for one specific person rather than an audience; and timing, which means knowing when to say what.

This week's challenge: pick one piece of work you are about to make and ask whether anyone else could have made it. If the answer is yes, go back and find the place where it stops being a cover and starts being your song.

Cover bands don't change the world.

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Mentioned in this episode

Louder Than Words: Harness the Power of Your Authentic Voice by Todd Henry

The Infinite Lever, Todd's keynote and workshop on the human skills that matter more as AI gets better

Dick Fosbury and the Fosbury Flop at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics

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More from Todd at toddhenry.com. Full interviews and bonus content on Daily Creative+.