Source: Marginal REVOLUTION
Companies like sneaker firms are adopting AI identity signals not because their operations have changed, but because AI branding commands premium valuations and venture attention in ways traditional categories no longer do. This creates a perverse incentive: narrative renovation becomes more valuable than product innovation. Value gets extracted through classification games rather than capability creation. Asset bubbles aren't just price inflation. They're categorical arbitrage—the ability to rebrand into hotter narratives becomes the primary competitive advantage.