Look, I get it. Everyone’s obsessed with AI stocks right now. But while you’re busy chasing the next ChatGPT wannabe, some of the smartest money is betting on something completely different: companies that remind us what it’s like to be human.
Think about it. When AI can write your emails, design your presentations, and probably do your taxes better than you can, what’s left? The stuff that makes us feel alive. The experiences that no algorithm can replicate.
Enter what I like to call the “AI Survivors” – companies that thrive precisely because they’re not digital. They’re the antidote to our screen-saturated lives.
Three Stocks That Prove Humans Still Matter
Diageo (DEO): The Liquid Courage Company
This British booze behemoth owns everything from Guinness to Don Julio tequila. And here’s the thing – you can’t download a pint. Sure, AI might mix the perfect cocktail recipe, but it can’t replicate that 119.5-second Guinness pour ritual or the way a good whiskey turns strangers into philosophers.
Diageo doesn’t just sell alcohol; they sell moments. The clink of glasses, the burn of good tequila, the stories that flow after the third round. Try getting that from your laptop.
Krispy Kreme (DNUT): The Happiness Factory
Nothing says “screw your digital diet app” like a warm, glazed donut at 6 AM. That red “Hot Now” sign isn’t just marketing – it’s a beacon of analog joy in our increasingly virtual world.
While AI optimizes everything else in our lives, Krispy Kreme optimizes pure, sugary bliss. The smell of fresh donuts, the satisfying squish of glaze between your teeth – these are experiences that exist in the real world, where calories still count and happiness comes in circular, fried form.
Six Flags (FUN): The Adrenaline Dealers
VR headsets are cool and all, but they can’t make your stomach drop 200 feet in three seconds. Six Flags specializes in the kind of terror that makes you feel gloriously alive – the opposite of our comfortable, predictable digital bubbles.
From Cedar Point’s Steel Vengeance to Knott’s Berry Farm’s old-school charm, these parks offer something AI never will: genuine, heart-pounding, scream-inducing reality. Plus, where else can you eat fried chicken that’s been perfected since the 1930s?
The Investment Thesis That Actually Makes Sense
Here’s the contrarian bet: As AI takes over more of our digital lives, we’ll crave authentic, physical experiences even more. The companies that provide these experiences – the drinks, the thrills, the simple pleasures – become increasingly valuable.
It’s not about being anti-technology. It’s about recognizing that humans need balance. We need the smell of fresh bread, the rush of a roller coaster, the ritual of sharing a drink with friends. These aren’t luxuries – they’re necessities for our sanity.
While everyone else is betting on the next AI breakthrough, maybe the real opportunity is in the companies that help us remember what it means to be human. Because at the end of the day, no algorithm can replicate the simple joy of a perfect donut or the shared laughter after surviving a terrifying ride.
So next time you’re building your portfolio, ask yourself: Am I investing in our digital future, or in the experiences that will keep us grounded in reality? Sometimes the best investment strategy is the one that bets on our humanity, not our technology.
Just don’t blame me when you start craving donuts every time you check your portfolio.