AI-native era: Ochiba shows design value nears zero, taste and networks win

The author's argument rests on a shift already visible in software. Tools such as Zoo's Text-to-CAD, which generates editable 3D CAD models from text, and Flux's AI assistant, which can select parts and edit schematics, suggest the same wave is reaching mechanical and electronic design. Because design data can be sent to contract manufacturers, the author expects AI to eventually search for suppliers, place orders, and handle payment and delivery schedules.

The overflow of products is the second thread. Apple's reviewed submissions and registered developer counts both climbed between 2024 and 2025, though Apple itself did not explain why. Valve, for its part, changed its policy in January 2024 to allow most AI-made games on Steam if developers disclose AI use. Against that backdrop, the author points to Ochiba, where the maker herself said the starting point differs from ordinary memo apps, as an example of sensibility rather than features driving choice.

On relationships, the author highlights Matsurism, a group that runs Ma-tourism, connecting festival organizers short on helpers with urban young people and foreigners who want to take part. Its 2020 seminar material cites 12 regions, roughly 40 events, and 450 cumulative participants, and Ishikawa Prefecture opened a matching site for festival volunteers in 2025. The author's point is that such a service is easy to build as software, but the existing ties to organizers and registered participants are the real asset, and reliability in manufacturing remains valuable even as design becomes democratized.