Julie, this was so powerful. I found myself shivering while reading it. Thanks for expressing so well something I felt and thought about, but could not crystallise in words.
The scene in Wall-E comes to mind where humanity is reduced to a giant cruise ship full of over-fed, brain-dead “comfortable” people…
While i agree that working for intrinsic motivations is more fulfilling than extrinsic motivations, work for even intrinsic motivations will still ultimately lead to the same place - emptiness. Because in the end, everything is empty, and when we see that, there is only one path forward, not because it will lead to fulfillment, but because why would one choose anything else - deep and boundless love for oneself and all others.
Not sure 100% if my reply is relevant to your point, but I've heard recently someone saying that "the journey is the destination" and I like it. It's so exhausting to live always with expectations, something always to achieve, but I'm learning that there's no destination, we arrived right here right now.
Very cool. Thank you! It made me think about the 'living art project' - creating ourselves and our lives. I am most content when I can feel myself changing, growing, evolving, becoming something I am not yet sure of..
Julie, this piece is fantastic. I'm going to think about discomfort in a whole new way. Beautiful writing: "the greatest love for a craft comes from discovering all the endless ways to be humbled by it"...and also super thought-provoking ideas like the idea that AI might give us endlessly bespoke novels that will make disappointment obsolete.
Julie, this is a beautifully articulated reflection on a conversation that’s become increasingly fragmented and polarized. Your closing line—“our souls need proof of work”—really stayed with me. It’s a powerful reminder that while the world debates hustle culture vs. leisure, meaning often lies in the effort itself, not just the outcome.
In a time where we’re pulled between ambition and rest, AI efficiency and human fulfillment, your perspective offers clarity: hard work isn’t just a means to success, it’s a path to inner satisfaction. Not because society demands it, but because our spirit craves it. Thank you for adding nuance to a debate that too often misses the deeper point.
Love this. I think a lot of people are experiencing the emptiness and ennui of a "comfortable life" but rejecting the idea of suffering as the antidote. You're exploring a middle path here around rich experience, human connection and meaningful contribution. That makes so much sense to me.
I love your thesis on a personal level in that I get a lot of meaning from hard work, both paid work and community building work. But I have good health, grown kid, parents gone.
Your discussion of work writ large misses is that a huge segment of our society is already working hard to stay in place. They are taking care of children, elders, illness, and so forth in addition to holding down a job.
They want labor saving devices so that they can focus on Job 1 of keeping everyone fed, bathed, moving along. They will want to be taken care of by a guaranteed income so they can raise their children without sacrificing their health. Staying afloat is their hard work. Republicans deny this reality when they ask for disabled people to work a few hours a week in order to get disability benefits - they label it as laziness.
This isn’t to say your perspective isn’t valuable but that it’s only part of the picture. We get meaning from work, and it feeds our soul, but it can destroy us if it’s too much.
How might we use AI to allow people the time to work hard for the things they really care about?
This is the problem with a society that doesn't value social services as much as it should. Oligarchs don't want people to be comfortable, as they derive their power from the exact situation you described--we have to work to survive, and much of that work is not compensated well enough to allow us to live comfortably and focus on "real work" which is taking care of family, self-care, passion projects, etc.
Julie, this was so powerful. I found myself shivering while reading it. Thanks for expressing so well something I felt and thought about, but could not crystallise in words.
The scene in Wall-E comes to mind where humanity is reduced to a giant cruise ship full of over-fed, brain-dead “comfortable” people…
I cried the first time I saw Wall-e time for a rewatch
I reference that scene multiple times a week! And yes, this was gorgeous
Good read! I'm currently wrestling with very similar thoughts so it was nice to see I'm not going mad, thanks for writing this!
While i agree that working for intrinsic motivations is more fulfilling than extrinsic motivations, work for even intrinsic motivations will still ultimately lead to the same place - emptiness. Because in the end, everything is empty, and when we see that, there is only one path forward, not because it will lead to fulfillment, but because why would one choose anything else - deep and boundless love for oneself and all others.
I see what you are saying and agree. But I think you can see deep and boundless love for oneself and all others as a kind of personal fulfillment.
Not sure 100% if my reply is relevant to your point, but I've heard recently someone saying that "the journey is the destination" and I like it. It's so exhausting to live always with expectations, something always to achieve, but I'm learning that there's no destination, we arrived right here right now.
That was the best thing I've read about AI so far. Technology + humanity + wellbeing. Thank you.
Very cool. Thank you! It made me think about the 'living art project' - creating ourselves and our lives. I am most content when I can feel myself changing, growing, evolving, becoming something I am not yet sure of..
Deeply thoughtful. Beautifully written.
This is so timely, like I needed something exactly like this in this season of life. Thanks for expressing it so powerfully and beautifully.
Nice piece Julie. I love it!
Thanks for this Julie. "Every Good Endeavor" is a great meditation on this concept from a Christian perspective.
Julie, this piece is fantastic. I'm going to think about discomfort in a whole new way. Beautiful writing: "the greatest love for a craft comes from discovering all the endless ways to be humbled by it"...and also super thought-provoking ideas like the idea that AI might give us endlessly bespoke novels that will make disappointment obsolete.
Julie, this is a beautifully articulated reflection on a conversation that’s become increasingly fragmented and polarized. Your closing line—“our souls need proof of work”—really stayed with me. It’s a powerful reminder that while the world debates hustle culture vs. leisure, meaning often lies in the effort itself, not just the outcome.
In a time where we’re pulled between ambition and rest, AI efficiency and human fulfillment, your perspective offers clarity: hard work isn’t just a means to success, it’s a path to inner satisfaction. Not because society demands it, but because our spirit craves it. Thank you for adding nuance to a debate that too often misses the deeper point.
Love this. I think a lot of people are experiencing the emptiness and ennui of a "comfortable life" but rejecting the idea of suffering as the antidote. You're exploring a middle path here around rich experience, human connection and meaningful contribution. That makes so much sense to me.
Whole piece is killer but “I want to be a person of warmth and depth and courage” hit like a truck. Thank you for writing this.
I love your thesis on a personal level in that I get a lot of meaning from hard work, both paid work and community building work. But I have good health, grown kid, parents gone.
Your discussion of work writ large misses is that a huge segment of our society is already working hard to stay in place. They are taking care of children, elders, illness, and so forth in addition to holding down a job.
They want labor saving devices so that they can focus on Job 1 of keeping everyone fed, bathed, moving along. They will want to be taken care of by a guaranteed income so they can raise their children without sacrificing their health. Staying afloat is their hard work. Republicans deny this reality when they ask for disabled people to work a few hours a week in order to get disability benefits - they label it as laziness.
This isn’t to say your perspective isn’t valuable but that it’s only part of the picture. We get meaning from work, and it feeds our soul, but it can destroy us if it’s too much.
How might we use AI to allow people the time to work hard for the things they really care about?
This is the problem with a society that doesn't value social services as much as it should. Oligarchs don't want people to be comfortable, as they derive their power from the exact situation you described--we have to work to survive, and much of that work is not compensated well enough to allow us to live comfortably and focus on "real work" which is taking care of family, self-care, passion projects, etc.
Great read
Great essay