I have no interest to use Gen AI to write as it is the process of writing that IS therapeutic for me. So, yes, I will make mistakes, typos, use incorrect syntax and I really don’t care… You entered in a zone that cherishes human « imperfections », human « flaws » or simply put, you enter in a zone where humans are welcomed as they are: PERFECTLY natural. 

My soul feels deprived of oxygen lately. This ultra focus on Artificial Intelligence makes me sick to my heart. I don’t really know where this feeling comes from but I can assure you that it’s not coming from fear of AI. I understand AI and work in it everyday. This feeling comes from somewhere else… A feeling of disappointment regarding where the world decided to place its value. While, I’m not surprised, as going faster, being more productive, gaining more by doing less to increase margins have been the sole focus of capitalism (even more so since the industrial era); I can tell you that we turn yet another corner in our disregard of human beings.

Don’t get me wrong, I love technology and I am fundamentally a nerd. I worked in tech my entire life and I enjoyed every bit of it. I just feel that there is a moment where we need to ask ourselves one thing: Should we go somewhere just because we can? Should we embrace and infuse a technology that promotes synthetic over human craft? It is not a question about if we can do it but if we should really do it?

I know what you are about to say… isn’t the point of Technology? « Reducing the effort needed and get a better, faster result and more.. » I would say yes, but let’s not forget the rest of this statement: « so that people can focus on higher value add tasks ». For instance, create, ideate, design, interact and exchange with others, define, write, hire, grow talent, craft the future… the reason why I’m writing today is because this second part is now the target of synthetic replacement or at least this is what we are led to believe…

Let me tell you a bit about myself so that you can understand where I’m coming from with this… my dad is a furniture maker and carpenter. I grew up with the smells of freshly cut wood and furniture dye… I grew up with the vision my father hands, rustic and raw, like they were also made of wood. The notion of human craft is at the center of my heart. It is anchored at the core of my thinking. On my end, I didn’t inherit my dad’s handcrafting skills but my mom’s love for letters… I focused on intellectual pursuits or what I would call the craft of the mind… crafting ideas, thoughts and a deep willingness to write! 

Witnessing the hyper focus on making Gen AI a next step constitute for me an « attack » or « insult » to the human craft. It is not about whether the Gen AI will and won’t be able to get the same result (or better?) as what a human can do… it is about what it means to replace what is truly making life interesting… human craft… the pleasure and fascination to know that what you are reading, who you are interacting with, the picture you are looking at, has actually been thought through and entertained by a human, natural, organic being. The pleasure to know that whoever is talking to you has actually a life, a mother, a childhood, a family, a set of values and beliefs, fears, experiences… 

This is what life is about for me and this is why I will write here… Welcome aboard fellow humans! This is where you can just be yourself 🙂