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…
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..
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.
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.
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?
How do I get a refund? I had difficulty cancelling, thought I did, but just got charged for another month. When I clicked "You may also request a refund", it took me to a blank page
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…
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!
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!
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.
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.
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?
So powerful and beautifully written. Thank you!
Beautifully put- thank you Julie :)
How do I get a refund? I had difficulty cancelling, thought I did, but just got charged for another month. When I clicked "You may also request a refund", it took me to a blank page
Hi Julie! This is great.
beautiful words 🥰