Provably real is the new premium
For the first time, the FBI's annual internet crime report has a category just for AI scams. In 2025, it logged 22,364 complaints and nearly $893 million in losses.
Scammers used fake social profiles, cloned voices, fake ID documents and deepfake videos of public figures and loved ones to pose as people they're not.
Scams are also getting harder to spot. Malwarebytes surveyed 1,500 adults in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland this year, and 85% said it's hard to tell a scam apart from the real thing. A year earlier, that figure was 66%.
That's a big shift in twelve months, and my take on this is that it really changes how we decide who to trust..
Why real is worth more now
For years, a photo, a voice on the phone or a profile with a few hundred connections was enough to show that someone was real. AI has made all of those easy to fake.
When something is easy to fake, people stop trusting it. Trust then moves to the things that are still hard to copy.
But, the hardest thing to copy right now is time spent with someone in person.
The need for real connection is growing. In a 2025 AARP study of 3,276 US adults aged 45 and over, 40% said they are lonely, up from 35% in 2018. Nearly a quarter of lonely adults said they're interested in AI for companionship.
The serendipitous relationships AI can't build for you
I call this personal capital: the relationships you build by showing up. It's worth building for two reasons.
The first is your sanity. AI can help you write an email, plan an itinerary or keep a conversation going. It can't give you the meaningful, fun and carefree moments that come from spending time with people in person.
The second is trust. In your career and in life, the people you trust most are the ones you've spent real time with. As more of what you see online gets harder to believe, they become the people you rely on for advice, introductions and support.
The best version I know is a house full of people who arrived as strangers and left with plans to do it again. Over a few days in a house together, you see how someone treats the Uber driver, how they handle a long line at the festival gate and what makes them laugh. You also find out who does the dishes.
What real feels like
For me, real is a dinner that runs three hours longer than planned. It's a music festival weekend with people you'd never have met otherwise who share your taste in music, the moments we spent together that are etched in our memories, and the laughs with the other group members in our Bubbl chat that keep going after everyone flies home.
I learned this over eight years of running group ski cabins in Lake Tahoe. And in 2021, I met my husband in a Bubbl, at a summer house where a group of us stayed together.
At Bubbl, we call this serendipity. It means being in the right place, at the right time, with the right mindset to meet people who make a difference in your life.
You can plan for serendipity more than you'd think. Start with something you're already doing, like a conference, a wedding or a ski trip. Then choose to spend that time with people who love the same thing, co-located in the same hotel or house, for a few days.
It also helps to spend time with people who are further along in something you care about, like a sport, a skill or a career. A few days in their company gives you time to ask questions and see how they do it.
How we’re building Bubbl for both serendipity and trust
Some of you will point out that Bubbl is a place where you meet people online. That's true. The online part is there to get the right people into the same room, safely.
You join a Bubbl for an event or trip you care about, or run a private one with friends, family or colleagues. You connect with the Leader and the group before you go, then stay together for the experience. I designed Bubbl before the expansion of AI, out of the isolation of the Covid pandemic, ironically.
Leaders and Travelers on Bubbl are ID verified, every Bubblr has a profile, and can be screened by a questionnaire. We’ll be calling this our Bubbl Wrap trust system.
More on that soon.
The group chat, bulletin board and calendar keep plans and updates in one place, so you can get to know the group before you arrive, coordinate during and stay in touch after.
When anything can be faked, the time you spend with people in person is worth more.
What concerns you most about AI?, and has it changed your desire to get out and about and connect with people in person more than before?
