I was thinking about starting a new creative project recently. But then I thought - with how quickly AI is advancing, in just a few years an AI will probably be able to do this in just minutes. So it made me feel kind of apathetic and think, “Why should I bother starting this big project now if an AI could do it for me in a few years?”
I’m curious if others feel this way or if the advancement of AI is making people less motivated to start big, creative projects since the work could just be automated by an AI soon anyways. It could increase apathy and make people feel like “why bother?” Am I overthinking this? Does the possibility of AI taking over certain tasks in the future make you less motivated to start projects and learn new skills? Would love to hear others’ thoughts on this!
Read some existentialism, no joke. I don’t agree 100% but I read a bunch of Beuvoir over the weekend and one thing I did like was it made me internalize the idea that coming up with a project I care about and achieving it is worthwhile in and of itself regardless of if it “could” be done by someone/something else.
Think about it this way, there are mathematicians from 500 years ago who did a lot of stuff by hand for hours that I could work out with a calculator in seconds today. But does that mean all their work was worthless? If I create a fairly shitty drawing, but I’m proud of my having created it, am I wrong to be proud simply because my friend who is a great artist could make a better one in half the time?
It’s not just about the journey, but it’s not just about the destination either–its about the journey to the destination, and placing value only in one of those things will cause you to be at a loss for the rest of your life.