I once had a boss who was a very high-energy guy. He was intelligent, thoughtful and driven, but also more than a little manic and scattered. One day when we were talking about fitness, he said he needed to start a regular routine to get into shape. I told him that I practiced ashtanga yoga and found it transformed bothy body and my mind. He replied, “I tried yoga before but found it too boring…focusing on all those Sun Salutations and deep breathing was monotonous.”
I had to laugh when he said this. Focusing on the breath, repetition and the monotony is exactly what makes yoga work.
After the recent launch of ChatGPT, there has been a lot of discussion about how it (and similar AI tools) can be used to write papers, do research, create project outlines and draw pictures.
- “Write a paper about xyz, in the style of this known author” will spit out a reasonable facsimile.
- “Generate a landscape in the style of Monet,” will create an impressionistic image in seconds.
I’ve read about real estate agents using ChatGPT to create “blurbs” about properties they are listing. Marketers use it to make a first draft which they can then edit to use for advertising. Jokesters have used it to create photo-realistic images for memes and pranks. College students use it to create essays and papers.
I’m sure we will hear of many other use cases in the coming days, weeks and years.
I’m not going to judge whether this good or bad. It’s a new technology. It’s free (or cheap). The landing curve is low. It will make certain tasks faster and easier. I suspect it will become a routine part of our lives – in the same way that electricity, cell phones, combustible engines, computers and many other technologies have.
I will be one of those people, no doubt.
Except…sometimes, faster and easier is not the point.
I create paintings using watercolors and ink on paper. Some of my paintings are beautiful. Some are a mess. I could undoubtedly generate “better looking” art using AI.
That’s not why I paint.
I do it to create something from nothing. I do it to focus. I do it to feel that feeling in my chest when I look at something that I created…from nothing. I do it to stretch my imagination. I do it to pass the time. I do it because it makes me think. I do it because it makes me frustrated. I do it because it makes me smile.
I love technology. I love efficiency, productivity and not wasting time.
When I was working, one of the ways I became successful was to recognize when I was doing repetitive, mindless tasks and figure out ways to automate them.
Now AI will do that for us in an instant.
And we, as humans, will be challenged to figure out when that’s not the point.