In a recent article, Jeremiah Owyang wrote: “There is a shrinking technical moat in AI—when tech features become a never-ending arms race, business strategy matters even more"

He’s right

The pace of AI innovation means whatever advantage you build today can be copied tomorrow

 So, if your strategy is to win through tech alone, you’re in for a short-lived victory

In response, I argued in this article that the true moat is human

It's about empowering every employee to be visible, credible, and connected on social media

It’s about building trust at scale, not blasting the market with ads, cold calls, or spam emails, which, let’s face it, don’t cut through anymore

If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, how are you any different?

Being a futurist often feels like shouting into the wind

That’s why it was refreshing to see Robespierre Zoroaster Hargreaves weigh in: “The moat is human-centred design, trust and ethics. The drawbridge is explainability and human oversight, where AI becomes human-in-the-loop, an assistive companion.” 

That’s the direction of travel

Conclusion:
In the race to differentiate in an AI-driven world, the winners won’t be those with the flashiest features

They’ll be the ones who double down on humanity, building cultures of trust, practicing ethical transparency, and using social to put people, not bots, at the heart of their brand

Tech may get you in the game

But people will keep you there