Henry Stoneley | On why AI slop is a blessing, and the value of meaningful friction | #103

In this episode of The Only Constant, Lasse Rindom speaks with Henry Stoneley, a health-tech commercial and communications leader with more than a decade of experience bringing technology into the NHS. Having built strategies that sold millions of pounds of health technology, served as a director at the UK’s largest health-tech agency and helped launch HLTH Europe, Henry brings a rare combination of market insight, language obsession and practical experience to a conversation about AI, communication and what it means to sound human.

Main topics they discuss include:

• Why AI’s tendency towards the statistically likely next word makes language increasingly homogeneous
• How strangeness, surprise and meaningful friction make communication memorable
• Why companies need a small number of repeatable truths rather than endless generic marketing copy
• How authenticity can help people and brands stand out without sounding like every other company in the room

Henry’s blend of sharp language, cultural references and commercial experience makes this a thoughtful conversation about copywriting, communication and how to remain distinctive when everyone has access to the same tools.

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Do you want to know more about Henry Stoneley?:

Former European Song Contest judge and agency owner (only one of those is true), Henry Stoneley runs Keystone, an independent advisory and communications practice, that helps healthtech companies get heard and enter the NHS.    He was previously a senior team member launching HLTH Europe, now Europe's biggest healthtech event, where his remit was to build the event from zero brand recognition to the largest in a swamped sector within two years. He also co-hosts Health Service Unpicked, a podcast on NHS innovation, policy and leadership.

Before that, he spent around ten years in healthcare SaaS sales and C-suite roles, was a director at a healthtech comms agency, and spent a reasonable amount of time writing a newsletter while pretending to be a Pigeon. Based in London, he credits his obsession with words and copy to being raised in a household of bookish nerds and absolute dweebs.