Hi friends. Today’s issue is a follow up to ChatGPT and Your Purpose . If you haven’t read it yet, you should check it out. It has proved to be quite popular. I hope you enjoy today’s issue on generative AI and degenerative minds.
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WE AREN’T READY
"The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology."-E.O. Wilson
We are in an age of technological revolution. From artificial intelligence to quantum computing, our lives stand to be changed forever.
The old ways are becoming undone.
New tools are being created and augmented at an unprecedented rate.
And we simply aren’t ready.
Despite the excitement and buzz that these new innovations generate, we aren’t ready for the consequences.
We aren’t ready for the deep fakes, which will confuse the multitude.
We aren’t ready for the artificial intelligence that will make most of our careers obsolete.
We aren’t ready for the tools that promise to make our lives easier, but in fact, will only make them harder.
We aren’t ready to accept that our ability to be tenacious and think critically is in such a fragile state.
This will affect us all.
The students who are realizing that their degrees may not matter in just a few years.
The managers who are realizing that their roles can be done cheaper and more efficient by a computer.
And most disturbing, the talented among us who will have their opportunities stolen and their skills reduced in value.
Case in point, Midjourney.
Midjourney, like ChatGPT, is an AI that can generate custom art within a minute based on a prompt that you provide. I used Midjourney to create a series of covers for YouTopian Journey. It took less than a minute and the results are simply stunning. It was free and fast. In fact, I no longer require an artist to bring my unique vision to life.
I am kidding, of course.
You can see the results below.
I don’t know what this is.
It lacks vision.
It lacks personality.
It lacks passion.
For someone who is looking for an easy fix, artificial intelligence can easily provide a solution. Just like how I can use ChatGPT to write this entire newsletter and Midjourney to provide the illustrations.
I can save time.
And with that time saved, I can focus on other things.
Except, I have a talent and a desire to write.
I have a vision and a desire to bring it to life via the creative ability of another genius.
And when you have such a talent, it is a sin to waste it. To outsource it. To let it sleep beneath your surface.
But the majority don’t seem to care. As long as life is easy and we can have the illusion of talent, nothing else matters.
We see it everywhere.
The so-called thought leaders on social media.
The influencers whose followers are purchased bots.
The writers whose free ebooks are nothing more than pointless drivel.
This is dangerous and it leads to the decay of our minds, our talents, and our potentialities.