DeepSeek and the measurable love of a good longshot story
Measured in units of pure human emotion and feeling, nothing beats a good longshot story.
Why? Because all of us know what a longshot is. We have all proudly worn the longshot label like a Scarlet Letter. And yet, despite its immense energy, inspiration, and success, the longshot story remains one of data’s least obvious places for analyzing measurable results.
Historically speaking, longshot results are abundantly clear, and very often it begins somewhere like this: “You’ll never …”
… Get into that university, land that job, launch that business, fix that problem, write that book, get that promotion, close that deal, compete against them (they have money, you don’t!), make that team, win that match, survive in that environment ... so, yes, you may as well just keep on dreaming the impossible! And besides, you don’t have formal training, how do you expect to go anywhere without that?
On and on the longshots (and the underdogs) are created — and on and on the longshots have succeeded — wiping out the “nevers” with a success story that inspires others to begin their own longshot/underdog journey.
In basic storytelling terms, the longshot is a relatable, easy to understand Theme
And Theme (capital ‘T’ version) is not only one of the most important ingredients of a successful story, it’s also among the most misunderstood for its misuse.
To understand Theme at its core — i.e. in its most basic, emotional, feeling, human level of possibility and (measurable) problem-solving terms — is to work with it at its full potential.
Theme has been making our human orbits spin since someone, somewhere invented the phrase “that’s impossible” — and wrote it on a cave wall (for all to begin challenging it).
Inside the corporations that I advise, conversations frequently begin like this: This is a real estate theme; this is an insurance theme; a legal theme; an investment theme; a new energy theme; a tech theme.
One problem. None of those are actually Themes.
Those small ‘t’ (distant) cousins are conversation starters or character creators that could (with some professional story structure) lead to real, measurable Themes — if we let it. And it doesn’t take much to let it.
Theme is what a story is really about
Hollywood (or Bollywood or any of your favourite film industries … and pop songs) has long been a leader in Theme construction. When they get it right (and frequently they do), franchise films and TV shows and brands and hit songs are created.
We can learn a lot from those case studies; not as a mythological “hero’s journey” type of learning, but as a practical lesson in the business of professional storytelling — or as I also like to call it, SceneThinking™.
Problem-solving focused human communications … one Scene at a time.
Theme is story gravity. Without consulting NASA, we know that if a story doesn’t have gravity — a Theme we can relate to — we’ll float away to something else that we can relate to. Ummm … do you have any stories of people — perhaps even your own company — overcoming challenges to win?
We humans are decision-making and discovery loving beings. And we want to understand the problem-solving decisions that went into the longshot. Great gravity for my listening and question-asking pleasure.
Okay, well, to answer your question, we do have some stories like that. This is the story of how we took a distressed, undervalued, under-appreciated, abandoned asset and turned it around with well thought through decision-making strategies inspired by our many discoveries.
Oh, and remember that global brand seen on every supermarket shelf … and then it disappeared? Well, we’re bringing it back to its former glory. We are giving it a second chance.
Longshot. Underdog. Turn-around. Second chance.
Are you feeling the Theme love yet?
We know those Themes well — inside and outside the corporation. (And the data miners are about to present some findings.)
(Side note: I had a yard sale last summer and met interesting people who spend their weekends searching for surprising (inexpensive) items that can be cleaned up for a quick profit on Facebook marketplace. A fabulous experience watching my front lawn morph into an “imaginative marketplace” for second chances and turn-arounds.)
Back to Hollywood for a minute. Breaking Bad. 5 seasons, 62 episodes … about a drug-dealer, right? Nope. Not many of us can relate to drug dealers. What we can relate to is what Breaking Bad is really about: doing whatever it takes to save your family. Oh, okay, I can relate to that – even if they have to sell drugs to do it. Longshot, underdog, turn-around, second-chance. Now you’ve got something we will definitely tune in for (including the spin-offs – Better Call Saul).
Harry Potter. About a boy wizard? Wizardry is cool and all, but unless you get me closer to Scenes of (human) relatability I’ll get bored. How about a boy trying to find the truth about his family — with wizardry and a few pals there to entertain us along the way? Human decisions, discoveries, problem-solving and some fantasy … I’m in!
Then along comes the longshot called DeepSeek
This was a gigantic Humanaivolution event. How did the David suddenly do battle with the tech Goliaths? Where did this longshot come from? We want the story!
Well, we are certainly getting that story. DeepSeek success is reaching consumers —where Scenes live and breathe … making stories a relatable, measurable success.
Quoting The Economist in an aptly named piece: “The real meaning of the DeepSeek
Drama” (A Theme inspired headline indeed):
“The real winners will be consumers. For AI to transform society, it needs to be cheap, ubiquitous and out of the control of any one country or company. DeepSeek’s success suggests that such a world is imaginable.”
Continuing on with that same piece:
Some have begun to suggest that DeepSeek’s improvements don’t count because they are a consequence of “distilling” American models’ intelligence into its own software. Even if that were so, RI [DeepSeek’s model] remains a ground-breaking innovation. The ease with which DeepSeek found greater efficiency will spur competition. It suggests many more such gains are still to be discovered.
For two years the biggest American AI labs have vied to make ever more marginal improvements in the quality of their models, rather than models that are cheap, fast and good. DeepSeek shows there is a better way.
Imagine; discover; better. Human words that invoke human problem-solving … starting with a relatable Theme. (It’s impossible to imagine discovering anything better than this!)
Question: Do humans relate to Artificial Intelligence?
The answer to that starts with: What is AI’s Theme?
DeepSeek — purposely or not — began asking themselves those questions.
Serving their Scenes with Themes — never taking their eyes off the gravity of their story: a longshot who thought carefully about their role as a longshot.
The humans inside DeepSeek built the DeepSeek story by investigating human traits and desires: decision-making, discovery and imaginative, creative problem-solving. The place for making your story relatable to a wide audience — not just tech aficionados.
Whether or not you relate to DeepSeek’s story, the fact remains, quoting The Economist, they are showing “there is a better way … and the greater efficiency will spur competition.”
The DeepSeek longshot will surely inspire other longshots. Other humans who are just like you and me, participants in the Humanaivolution, hyper curious about finding better ways to communicate, interact and problem-solve.
DeepSeek will always have its detractors. Including — quoting The Economist — those “who have begun to suggest that DeepSeek’s improvements don’t count.”
Count or not, its presence is making our planet take notice. That counts. A lot.
DeepSeek and the Humanaivolution
When DeepSeek turned up as a disruptor — longshot style — hundreds of billions of dollars (trillions?) had been spent to get us to where we are.
Now DeepSeek turns up with an (allegedly) “cheaper” way to do the same thing?
In previous posts (before DeepSeek appeared) I proposed using the one thing we haven’t used yet to help us “start over”: the presence of AI.
DeepSeek humans spent their days surrounded by the presence of AI. They took that research into the last mile and made some decisions and discoveries to problem-solve cheaper solutions (among other things).
Will the presence of DeepSeek solutions slow down our investment in AI?
Numbers get attention — including when trying to raise more billions. The huge investments into AI and data centres — and the energy to power data centres —(probably) won’t slow down*.
But DeepSeek’s arrival does help to raise questions that are good for everyone at the negotiation (and creation) table. We need to create an open source environment using creative, less restrictive measures to get there.
The Humanaivolution supports this.
(* Thanks to my friends at Bilby.ai for sharing their thoughts.)
Is DeepSeek serving a second chance for AI? Of sorts, yes. Not the traditional second chance, per se, but it is a second chance at discovering more imaginative ways forward for the development of AI. History shows we welcome things that help to serve that relatable human Theme.
Does the longshot see themselves as a longshot? When you are in the midst of your longshot story it’s best to block out the noise or you might just pack it in (Yeah, you’re right, I have no chance …).
You are attempting to achieve something that you feel strongly about — something that you are emotionally attached to. (Don’t get emotional! Too late, I already am.)
I have a shot and I believe my ideas have the space — and the place … and the Scenes — for problem-solving to grow.
Returning to Themes. We know that the DeepSeek story is not about an AI company made good. It goes deeper(seek) than that.
This AI longshot is here to stay. Here’s another Thematic cut at their story — additional Themes highlighted.
The underdog who had to make some difficult choices to survive. The decisions paid off. Now DeepSeek is taking AI further to find more. DeepSeek has set a new story tone … expect the unexpected from DeepSeek.
Introducing a new segment to The Humanaivolution Show
Welcome to the first episode of “Surprising Scenes Spotted.”
Things that I saw that surprised me.
A Scene that made me curious. Most importantly … a Theme I could relate to.
This week’s story:
Last week I was feasting on delicious, street fried rice in a small town in eastern Thailand when the kind proprietor offered me some water.
I accepted and suddenly a Leo beer arrives. “I didn’t order this.”
She laughed and waited until I had a closer look. “Actually, yes, I did order this!” Water served in a recycled Leo beer can. Brilliant!
I praised her imaginative problem-solving skills. A turn-around / second chance. (As the photo below proves.)
Celebrate the longshot. This turn-around story has given a beer can a second chance — in a creatively sustainable way.
As always, thanks for subscribing (and recommending) Humanaivolution.
OK, pretty interesting ideas. DeepSeek is just standing on the shoulders of giants, as has every evolution of the collective cognitive capacity of humanity (and now... the machine world). We're just getting started.