Man Made The Machine. Can We Still Make Meaning?
Finding Balance In An AI-Powered World.
AI is moving like a tornado—fast, unpredictable, and reshaping everything in its path. We're all learning how to keep our feet on the ground.
Is that a good thing? Bad thing? I don't know. I often have conversations with my mom and friends about the impact of AI, how it's changing things now, and what the future looks like. I'll admit that as a writer, and the other hats I wear for my career, creativity, or just bouncing problems off of, it's been a godsend.
Using AI chat to gauge how content lands or how an idea might sit with certain target people means I don't have to sit, wonder, and ponder as much as before. AI has made my ideation, brainstorming, and creation process much faster. I'd even venture to say that it's helped me be better at it. And more confident!
I have one question I've asked everyone, including my mom, friends, family members, and even Uber drivers: How will AI impact human creativity?
What will it do to art, music, language, movies, literature, etc?
I wondered if art made by humans down the road would be more valuable because somebody did not make it with AI. Will a "Human-generated" label make the latest jazz track more valuable?
Will we get to the point where it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between what was made by AI and what wasn't?
I spoke with a friend recently who reminded me that AI is still early. And it is, despite how quickly it's progressing. Even then, it's still not new.
The concept has been around for ages. You don't need to look further than the Space Age sci-fi comics, books, and TV shows of the 50s and 60s.
If you're a millennial or a bit younger, you might remember the upstairs computer with the British accent that was rarely helpful to a certain anxious pink dog on Cartoon Network.
What is new is how widely accessible it’s become. For the first time, everyday people around the world can interact with AI. ChatGPT is one of the first major vehicles for that.
What does this mean for future generations? I recently watched a Project Nightfall video on YouTube that discussed and speculated what Generation Beta (babies born this year and beyond) will face in the future with AI. It's interesting, and it's not scary.
Why? Because, with every movement, there's a counter-movement.
Many Gen Z workers now, according to an article on CNBC, crave more in-person interaction at work than virtual ones. Thanks to this generation, malls may be poised to not flatline due to online shopping but may even see a slight resurgence.
Like with any new technology, people will need to learn balance. People will need to be more intentional with being human in a world of AI.
I recently watched an episode of The Twilight Zone called Static. The story was about an aging man who longed for the old days of radio in a world where everyone wanted to watch TV.
As I watched it, I thought about people who were used to reading newspapers and books, talking to neighbors, hearing music on a phonograph, and going to venues for entertainment.
What did they think of being able to hear so much just by sitting around a giant wooden box and listening to all of that through different programs with the turn of a dial?
There must have been some controversy about it, like video games, computers, the internet, cell phones, and social media. That is until they became a part of life!
Humans have a remarkable ability to learn, create, build, and adapt. And with these abilities, we rule the earth! We need to remember that AI is artificial intelligence; this means it's a copy of human intelligence made by humans. Regardless of how much it advances, it will never be human. It will always be artificial.
AI has the potential for a ton of good. However, with every technology, there are going to be cons. That's just a fact of life.
The key will be ensuring that we, on the individual level, continue to recognize the value in human worth, work, and creativity and not lose ourselves to something that man created.
In the age of AI, keeping that human touch may be one of the most important things we do
By the way, if you're looking for more perspectives on AI, check out and his newsletter Future-Focused!
What do you think we need to hold onto as humans in an AI-powered world? Let me know in the comments or feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts!
Apple Intelligence has been reading my incoming text messages and creating auto-replies on my behalf, which I've never used and have since disabled the feature. As we've seen so clearly during the COVID pandemic, many people lost their ability to think critically. If we allow AI to have conversations on our behalf, then we'll likely lose even more critical thinking skills.
Really enjoyed this reflection Jordan, and I think there's so much wisdom in it.
It also brought me back a bit as I thought of the days when I'd use the household computer and how much of an experience it was. How much things have changed, and yet, how little they have.