Embrace the Process to Maximize the JOY!
While reading a book about how to talk to AI (and how not to), I came upon a “statement of caution” related to all the ways us humans can utilize AI to enhance our lives. The statement was “Because life is about process, not just outputs.” The author had come to this brilliant realization after asking AI to write some Easter egg clues for a hunt involving his children and their friends. AI turned out short poems personalized to each child that the author readily admitted were better than anything HE might have written, but…BUT…as the children were joyfully finding the hidden eggs a realization came over him that writing poems for an Easter egg hunt is something that HE should be doing, not a machine, no matter how much better the machine might be at it. Why? Because life is about process, not just output.
I’m guessing that AI produced those personalized poems in less than two minutes. Add another 30 seconds to print them all out. I’ll also bet that the time spent uploading some basic information (like their favorite color, number, food, etc.) for each child, and available hiding spots in the home, took maybe 20 minutes. This would produce the maximum return for time invested. But did the efficient use of time produce the maximum amount of personal joy? Sure,it checked the box. It completed the task in an efficient manner. But, it appears it stole potential joy right out from under him. Clearly, the author realized that he had missed an opportunity to experience the joy the process of performing the task himself. I’m estimating the time investment needed for an average person to produce personalized poems for an Easter egg hunt might involve maybe 2-3 hours.
My wonderful wife provides me with some perfect examples of life being about the process, not just the output. Gardening is a passion that she enjoys, and you wouldn’t believe how excited she gets when the sky clears right after a rain. “It’s the perfect time for weeding” she constantly proclaims as she heads outside full of joy for something that I have a hard time getting excited about. But just watching her embrace the process brings me personal joy, meaning two people benefit from her embracing the process. How about that…a natural “two fer.” Now, I know AI can’t be used to weed a garden, but I also know that AI could provide a multitude of ways to eliminate the need for weeding, thus stealing all the joy that the process currently brings my wife (and me getting to admire her and her joy).
People who are passionate about cooking aren’t looking for ways that AI can shorten the process. Rather, they may embrace ways AI can enhance the results. Think of it like this; When preparing a homemade soup that you’re planning on taking to someone who just had a baby or is recovering from recent surgery, joy can be found in cutting all the vegetables up by hand vs. using a food processor. It takes longer, but amplified joy is hidden in the process, not the output. If output is the only goal, Campbells chicken noodle will suffice. But “soup in a can” robs both the preparer and the recipient of the joy that could have been experienced. It really becomes a speed of life vs. quality of life issue. When you embrace the process, you maximize the joy for yourself, and everyone else touched by your intentional actions.
There’s a massive number of people that claim that Artificial Intelligence will have the highest impact (both positive and negative) on society that has ever occurred in the history of the world. More than the industrial revolution, the proliferation of travel by vehicles, trains and planes. More than electricity, the eradication of polio, smallpox, and other medical miracles. More than computers, the internet, email, and cell phones.
As I write this, I believe that the level of impact being predicted is absolutely true, but what does that actually mean, and how can a person best prepare to take positive advantage of this opportunity? To answer this for myself, I decided to re-watch the Pixar movie WALL-E. The basic plot of WALL-E is: In the 29th century, Earth is an inhospitable, garbage-strewn wasteland due to an ecocide caused by rampant consumerism, corporate greed, and environmental neglect. Humanity was evacuated to space. As centuries pass, humanity has degenerated into helpless obesity due to microgravity and laziness, with robots catering to their every whim.
Will AI be able to cater to our every whim? Probably, which means that we all need to begin today, this very moment, managing our whims. We need training and education so we can individually manage our whims for positive results vs. selfish or self-serving-only results. AI needs to follow the “Give them a fish, feed them for day. TEACH them to fish, feed them for a lifetime” thought process for all humanity while AI is still in its infancy. AI has already infiltrated our K-16 educational systems but isn’t being taught (yet) by teachers, it’s being utilized by students to bypass the process focusing only on the output. Isn’t that cheating? Maybe, maybe not. What if it turns out that embracing the use of AI is the most powerful educational tool we can provide current and future students to increase their overall knowledge?
Maybe we should ponder it this way; if AI catered to our every whim, what would we miss the most about “the good old days?” I don’t think our mind would miss the output we used to generate. No, rather… I truly believe it would be all the processes we would miss the most. Why? Because the output can only bring temporary joy, while the process can always be tied to memories that produce joy that lasts a lifetime. So, embrace the process whenever you can and live a joy-filled life. Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!