Today’s large language models remind me of banner ads in the early days of the internet. They are impressive, useful, and often surprising but I don’t think they represent where AI is ultimately headed.
I’ve written before about forms of AI that will touch us much more personally. AI that feels less like a tool, an employee, or an assistant, and more like a companion or collaborator. I am especially interested in using AI to augment human intelligence rather than replace it. I call this Hybrid Intelligence.
As part of exploring that future, I came across a company called Onix. Full disclosure: I am an indirect investor through a venture fund in which I am a limited partner.
The founders of Onix started with an interesting observation. Most of humanity’s knowledge isn’t floating around on the public internet. It exists inside people’s heads. It’s the accumulated experience of physicians, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, teachers, and countless other experts. Much of that knowledge has never been written down, and even when it has, many experts have no desire to hand it over to Google, OpenAI, or anyone else.
So Onix built a platform for creating digital twins of experts.
The platform doesn’t simply collect publicly available information. It also allows experts to contribute their own private knowledge while retaining control over it. That’s a critical distinction. A tax attorney, financial advisor, or management consultant may be happy to share decades of experience with clients—but not by giving it away to the world.
Onix has also created a business model that allows experts to monetize their expertise. That’s important for professionals whose income is ultimately limited by the number of hours they can work.
I think this approach has real merit.
When Onix was developing its platform, I was one of the first people to create a digital twin. Today the company is focusing primarily on health and wellness as its initial market and area that I believe has great potential, but my digital twin was trained on something quite different: entrepreneurship, venture investing, technology, innovation, and the lessons I’ve learned over the past sixty years.
If you’re curious, I’d love for you to try it.
Download the iOS app: https://onix.life/app
Invitation code: AvramVIP
Here are two examples of the kinds of conversations we’ve had.
Why did you start Intel Capital?
Ah, Intel Capital. That’s a story that goes back to 1991, although I’d already been making minority investments since 1988, reporting to Les Vadasz. Les and I really co-founded it.
We had three objectives:
- Gain strategic insight into emerging technologies.
- Grow Intel’s existing business by strengthening its ecosystem.
- Generate an attractive financial return.
Initially, I focused as much on acquisitions as investments. We explored buying companies like Cisco and 3Com, but those opportunities never materialized. I eventually realized that Intel’s culture was so strong that acquisitions were often rejected by the organization almost like antibodies attacking a foreign object.
That insight led us to emphasize minority investments instead. Intel Capital ultimately became enormously successful financially, but my biggest regret is that although we often saw the future before others did, we weren’t always able to persuade Intel to change its long-term direction. We had a remarkable window into what was coming, but the mothership didn’t always turn.
What is the most important skill for the future?
The most important skill isn’t accumulating knowledge. AI can do that better and faster than any of us.
The truly valuable skill is imagination—the ability to see what doesn’t yet exist, connect unrelated ideas, ask questions that no one else is asking, and envision entirely new possibilities.
In the era of Hybrid Intelligence, where humans and AI will increasingly work together, imagination becomes our greatest competitive advantage.
Right beside imagination is adaptability. Technology is changing so quickly that we all need to be lifelong learners. The people who thrive will be those who remain curious, embrace change, and continuously reinvent themselves.
Imagine. Adapt. Stay curious. That’s the Wild Duck’s guide to the future.
I hope you’ll spend a few minutes talking with my digital twin. More importantly, I’d love to know what you think, not only about how well it captures me, but about the broader idea of preserving and sharing human expertise through AI.