I tried very hard to stay away from sharing my opinion on how AI will change our lives. There are so many opinions out there. Nobody needs yet another one. Right? Well, I will try to keep it short.
There are three huge top level categories of people, with many folks falling in between:
- Whatever — Those that don’t even know what’s happening or don’t care.
- Oh Gods! — Folks that are pessimists. They believe we are doomed or at the very least, we’ll lose our jobs because of AI.
- Hooray! — Folks that are optimists. They believe AI will save us from almost everything. They don’t care about being replaced at work. Or they believe their job will be done differently but they will be still needed.
I fall a little closer to Hooray! but I am not entirely carefree. I have my own worries about the future. But I am not a pessimist.
Let me focus on my own job. I consider myself a generalist with many different interests. Most around software, support, and people management. Let me focus on being a solo creator. Am I threatened by whatever AI ends up doing for us?
Well?
I lean towards no.
Here’s my thinking. I am 50. If I sample people I know outside of my tech bubble, I notice a pattern. No matter how many years have passed. No matter how much the technology has advanced. There are still people today that are digitally illiterate. In fact, I am often surprised by this. I would have thought most people would be more comfortable with technology. But I dare to assume it is the majority.
I am not competing against the AI. I am competing against other people who either use or not use AI. The pool of those not using AI (for whatever reason) will continue to be greater for the years to come. I can serve them by either helping them use AI, or via having them as users of my creations.
What about later down the road? Who cares? I will not be around forever.
This appears simplistic, but I am not a wise fellow.
So, there you are.
Thoughts
- I am using AI to help me create software.
- I am using it outside of my editor. As a 50 year old, it helps me keep my brain more engaged (i.e. no AI auto-complete).
- That makes me slower, but I don’t care. Nobody is chasing me.
- I still write my own posts with only minimal help from AI (spell check, structure, balancing sentence length and more).
- I chat a lot with AI about ideas, business strategies, research, brainstorming and more.
Here’s what I am doing
At Workbrew, I help our customers succeed, while working on docs, fixing bugs, and developing internal tools. At Amignosis, I pour my heart and skill into crafting slowly brewed software, one thoughtful line at a time. I am craftsman in a world of complexity and low-quality solutions. I am a shoemaker. I take the time to create simple, timeless software built to last. Check what I am doing now and talk to me.