The asteroid hurtling towards Earth
(3.5 min read)
Within the past year or so, I realized that my entire career has been a complete waste.
I used to tell myself that my work produced something useful, or at least something that could be. I was wrong.
Of course, much of my feeling relates to the fact that my career has mostly involved software engineering, which will soon be replaced by AI.
But let’s talk about AI’s takeover a bit later.
As for my particular career (which I doubt anyone would notice the absence of):
It reminds me of projects like the Famine Roads of Ireland, constructed during the Great Irish Famine (1845 – 1852).
The Great Irish Famine resulted in the deaths of almost one million people, caused widespread poverty, and forced mass emigration from Ireland.
As a form of “relief”, the government paid workers to build roads, many of which were unneeded (hence the name “road to nowhere”).
The workers lived away from their families and busted their asses for meager wages, and none of their work even mattered.
The government refused to provide handouts.
You needed to earn an income. Even if the product of your labor was a sham.
How pointless. And disheartening.
That’s not unlike many of our jobs now.1
All the time, I see people “working” in ways that aren’t efficient or even effective.
They just do tasks (or set up meetings to talk about tasks) to justify having a job and to seem needed.
For my whole career, I’ve run myself ragged, thinking that my efforts actually mattered.
I’ve looked down on anyone who didn’t grind like I did.
You know what I’m thinking these days?
Have you seen Don’t Look Up (the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence)?
The film tells the story of two astronomers attempting to warn humanity about an approaching comet that will destroy human civilization.
[…]
The film is a satire of government, political, celebrity, and media indifference to the climate crisis.
The astronomers see the impending future and are dumbstruck at how the rest of the world refuses to acknowledge what’s happening (and plan for it).
Although in the movie the comet strike is an allegory for climate change, I’m now also thinking of it as an allegory for super AI.
It’s blowing my mind how 99.9% of us are going about our days / weeks / months as if nothing has changed or is about to change.
I’m not saying that super AI will be catastrophic.
AI might not kill us all and might actually be amazing. Maybe it will massively reduce suffering and will even help reverse aging. 😀🤞
Either way, almost all of what we’re all focused on and stressing about in our everyday lives is a waste.
Either we’re all about to be killed by AI, or AI is going to solve most of our problems.2
For almost all of us (anyone other than those working at the leading AI shops or policy groups governing them), almost nothing is in our control.
If you have a personal habit of not worrying about anything that is outside your circle of influence, then there isn’t much you can worry about these days.
So in the meantime, I’m trying to remind myself: don’t die, and don’t sweat the small stuff.
We’re almost certainly less than decades away from life looking unrecognizable. (Some people even say it will just be years or months.)
I wish more people were talking about this. It’s an awkward time.
🕙 Recent posts:
🟢 How Writing Twice a Week Changed My Life (But Not How I Expected)
🟢 The zoom lens trick that makes you happier
🟢 Doing what I hate on my birthday
👀 Caught my eye this week:
Relevant video I saw this week that outlines the only 3 tasks that should be on anyone’s todo list, given what’s happening with technology (hint: “Don’t die” is one of them):
5m51s
🗨️ Quote of the day
“Peace is contagious”:
Plenty of jobs in the world are useful, of course.
One example of a job that is easy for me to appreciate: the surgeon (and related professionals) who repaired my wrecked knee in 2011.
Without their expertise, I wouldn’t be able to play sports or even walk. My life would be quite limited.
Another type of job whose work we all appreciate (and certainly would notice the lack of) is cleaning services.
Katie and I recently watched a very quiet, slow movie about a guy cleaning toilets. Perfect Days. It’s interesting to think about how his work could be much more impactful than a lot of technology professionals’ work.
This is NOT like the lightbulb replacing the candle.
AI is not like the typewriter replacing the pen.
AI is not like the washing machine replacing the washboard.
AI is not like the refrigerator replacing the icebox.
AI is not like the microwave replacing the stovetop.
AI is not like the car replacing the horse.
AI is not like the plane replacing the train.
AI is not like the GPS replacing the paper map.
AI is not like the smartphone replacing the landline.
Or any other example of “Sure, but we’ve seen plenty of technological advances in human history.”
It’s in a completely different league. A different universe.
Never before has an invention been able to understand itself, improve itself, and instantly reproduce on a global scale.
And we know that humans are notoriously bad at grasping exponential trends.