Become irreplaceable by A.I.
Welcome to the Age of Humanity. The world needs you now more than ever
*Listen to this reflection on Spotify or watch it on YouTube:
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Today, I’d like to share with you two questions to ask yourself and two skills that you must acquire…
And you must acquire them soon.
First, the why…
Remember little “Carol Anne” from the movie Poltergeist, announcing the demon’s arrival with an eerie, “THEY’RE HEEEEEEERE.”
That’s how it feels now with Artificial Intelligence, because “IT’S HEEEEEEERE”.
And it’s not just here to stay…it’s growing fast.
But despite being the cause of armageddon in nearly every apocalyptic movie, A.I. is not here to end the world…
A.I. is here to save it.
In the apocalyptic version, saving the world entails the belief that humans are the virus, thus, in order to save the world, they must be eliminated.
But that’s not what I envision.
Instead, I see humans thriving more than ever, as we now enter:
The Age of Humanity
Does this mean that your job won’t be replaced by a robot or computer program?
Of course not.
But it’s just a job.
It’s not “you”.
Look around…have you noticed any switchboard operators lately?
How about a milkman from the local dairy?
He lost his gig when widespread refrigeration came around.
When newspapers became popular, did the out-of-work “Town Crier” cry?
Or how about that busy “Knocker-up”? With a full schedule of paying clients, he’d go door-to-door each morning, waking his clients up by knocking on their windows with a long stick…
Until, of course, that pesky alarm clock was invented.
Think about it. Actually take a moment and feel what it would feel like to have no cell phones, computers, washing machines, televisions, cars, refrigeration, air conditioning, heating that turns on with a tap, button or dial, and on the list goes on and on.
Just this morning, I pressed a button.
Perfectly roasted coffee beans were freshly ground in seconds. The aroma of the grounds was intoxicating. Then into the coffee machine it went, along with a hearty pour of burning hot, filtered water from another enchanting machine that pours boiled water in an instant. I plugged the coffee machine into a socket in the wall to somehow receive channeled, magical electricity to power this creation. I grabbed my soy milk from a refrigerated box which keeps the temperature perfect, all the time. I give it a pour and somehow am able to enjoy Italian soy in a Costa Rican kitchen.
And in moments, the perfect cup of coffee.
I didn’t have to plant or roast beans, or manually grind them. I didn’t have to boil water over a wood-powered fire.
I plugged a machine in and lightly pressed a button.
Are we appreciating our situation yet?
Come on, I didn’t even mention my coffee mug that keeps the coffee at the perfect temperature which I control through an app.
Let’s realize that A.I. is doing for digital automation what machines have been doing for physical automation for decades.
Humans are ready to be free. Aren’t we?
Let’s find out.
First, you HAVE to ask yourself these two questions:
1. Can a computer do my job?
2. Can it do it better?
First, can a computer do your job?
Let’s be honest…a computer will be able to do MOST jobs very soon.
Yes, this even includes creative pursuits.
A computer can out-think, out-pace, and in a word, out-work you.
So, what’s the solution?
This is big, but you must stop looking at work as “work”.
This leads us directly to question two: “Can a computer do my job better than me?”
This is where you need to be REALLY honest with yourself.
If you are NOT deeply passionate about your work, and considering the first question (“Can a computer do my job?”), then you already know the answer.
If you know that you’re “going through the motions”, perhaps you can use this as an opportunity to find something about your work that you really care about.
Or not.
At least you’ll know for sure.
On the other hand, if you ARE deeply passionate about your work, then it becomes your task to mine your work for the nugget inside that makes it uniquely yours.
As a writer and coach, I am well aware that A.I. can write and also put together a coaching program, effortlessly.
What A.I. can’t do is what we humans are specifically here to do…
BE HUMAN.
That’s what happens when I meet and spend time with my clients.
There are emotions, intuition, an intertwining of my own personal experiences, and guidance I share with them that I am receiving at that moment.
My wife, Alisa, receives about a thousand times more powerfully than me, and I know that what she does simply cannot be replicated by a machine.
And with writing, A.I. is writing based on information that already exists and potentially forming new combinations of words.
That’s amazing, and it is a form of creation, however, that is not creating based on intuitive guidance.
That kind of creation cannot be taught.
That’s the creative spark that comes from within our soul.
It is the birthplace of truly new ideas, visions, and dreams, and it’s exactly what makes us human.
We are at the highest level of creation because we are creators.
We can imagine something in our minds that has never existed before,
And then manifest it into reality.
It’s no wonder that the word “Abracadabra” is a translation of the phrase:
“I create as I speak.”
Now that you know that you must focus on the human aspect of your work to be irreplaceable by A.I., it’s time to learn how.
You MUST learn these two skills:
1. Authentic Creativity
2. Enjoying The Journey
The first skill you must learn is this: Authentic Creativity.
By learning to create this way, you will be tapping into the source of all being — and a critical component that computers do not have:
Intuition.
That’s “Actual Intelligence.”
Artificial Intelligence is purely based on knowledge.
That’s why it’s ARTIFICIAL.
Look at the word “intelligence”. It is derived from the Latin words “inter” and “legere”, combining to form a word that means to “read between the lines”.
Humans are here, as intelligent, conscious beings, to pick up what is invisible and not obvious: the energy, the vibrations, the guidance that could never be learned in a data file or downloaded from the cloud.
Consider this:
We PAY tuition to learn knowledge but are GIVEN intuition to receive intelligence.
Artificial is not intelligence.
We are.
So, if your work allows for creativity, you’re safer than most.
However, in order to truly be free, you must learn to create for one reason only…and it is definitely not for the money.
You must learn to create for the JOY OF CREATING.
That is the wellspring of true creation.
It’s what flows out of you without the need to work, earn a living, toil, sweat, try to impress, prove worth, or overcome an obstacle.
The only obstacle, ever, is you.
When all of that fades, you can be free to create purely.
Living this way allows you to enjoy the journey, without trying to “get somewhere” or reach a destination.
It allows you to enjoy creating and enjoy the creations that this abundant universe has to offer.
Thus, the second skill you must develop is this: Enjoying the journey.
As Philosopher Alan Watts said, “The purpose of the machine is to make drudgery unnecessary.”
This is why machines are here as gifts of ingenuity for us to finally enjoy!
Think of all the generations that had to suffer for this age to emerge.
However, enjoyment takes skill.
And as the tide quickly turns from the Industrial Age to the Information Age to, now, this Age of Humanity, we are changing programming that runs generations deep.
Humans simply don’t know how to enjoy the journey.
And we must.
If we do not enjoy ourselves we will destroy ourselves.
It will be a race to the end for more power, weapons, and dominance.
We must learn to cooperate and give up the need for control.
We must ensure the humans that are programming the machines actually enjoy their life here on earth.
Thus, WE must enjoy our lives here on earth…
Or else self-destruction is inevitable.
A.I. = Enjoyment of life for humans …on steroids.
We need to learn the art of enjoyment, and for that, we need other skills…the skills that allow us to fully express ourselves.
Without skills to express, passions sit in the dusty basements and dark closets of regret, forever.
Which is more fun…
Learning to ride a bike or actually riding?
Learning the guitar or playing with ease?
Falling repeatedly on the bunny hill or gliding on skis in between tree after powdery tree?
According to Watts:
“It’s enormously important to understand that there is absolutely no possibility of having any pleasure in life at all, without skill.
MONEY DOESN’T BUY PLEASURE…EVER.”
You have inspiration, but then you have to have technique to incarnate, to express, your inspiration.
That is, to say, to bring heaven down to earth.”
Wisdom given is not earned.
And man acquires a skill, not by observation, but by direct experience.
It is time to become true scholars again.
The origin of that word, scholar, or school, is…
Get ready for it…
LEISURE.
Scholars were originally the ones who were wealthy enough and DID NOT HAVE TO WORK.
Thus, they had the free time to learn “frivolous” pursuits such as language and the arts.
That’s quite a difference from the way we look at school currently.
Now, however, we can all become true scholars and get back to learning for the pure enjoyment of learning.
This is how skills are built joyfully and creation occurs effortlessly.
Remember…we are now in the “Age of Humanity”.
Alan Watts called this “The Age of Leisure” but perhaps that’s a little too light and airy for steadfast competitors to take seriously.
After all, our schools have been the training grounds for future obedient workers for centuries… “Listen to that bell.” “Don’t be late.” “Ask for permission.” “Learning isn’t supposed to be fun.” “Get ahead of your classmates”. “Win.”
And on and on it goes…
But being human actually requires more being and less doing.
So the next time someone asks ,“What do you do?”
Reply back, “How do you be?”
Doesn’t that sound way cooler anyway?
But how do we get a hardened competitor to stop competing?
We don’t.
What we do, however, is change one vital component and the whole thing shifts…
We change the enemy.
The enemy is no longer other humans.
The enemy is not even A.I.
The enemy is simple:
Extinction.
Our joint goal is clear:
Protect our species and our home.
In essence, life is more fun than ever, and we want to keep this party going!
So, we come to the conclusion that it is insane for humans to continue competing with each other…
We are entering an age of collaboration.
Soldiers continue training, but as “World Soldiers”, with voluntary enlistees who have a passion to protect our planet and fellow humans.
Weapons are still developed, specifically to protect against threats foreign to humanity.
Space travel and science will progress.
Diseases will be cured.
Global warming will be addressed.
Starvation, inequality, and all forms of human and animal exploitation will fade away.
New and enjoyable living environments and locations will develop to provide for the population.
Technology helps us excel.
Technology is ALWAYS intended to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.
It does the “work” and we enjoy life…and create…and enjoy…and create…thus the cycle continues.
WE DO NOT “HAVE” TO WORK. NOW, WE “GET TO”.
“The hangup” according to Watts, “is that money is real, and people ought to suffer in order to get it.
But the whole point of the machine is to relieve you of that suffering.”
That time in history…that time of suffering…is over, friends.
This is a time to rejoice.
Let’s cash the forthcoming ‘Universal Basic Income’ checks and finally celebrate the liberation of humankind…and that WE are the ones who get to enjoy it!
We get to create for the joy of it.
We get to create to add beauty and value to the world.
This is our inherent worthiness.
Each one of us is worth something immeasurably valuable:
Our contribution to the expansion and evolution of the universe.
We are here to enjoy and experience life.
We are here to experience peace and harmony.
We are here to create.
We are not here to compete.
We are not here to win, conquer, or defeat.
We are not here to accumulate knowledge... we cannot win that game.
Enjoyment and creation.
Creation and enjoyment.
That’s it.
In closing, realize that if your job can be done by a computer, it's time to become an authentic creator.
We are alive to do what machines can’t: enjoy life, develop skills in areas that interest us, feel our emotions, use our senses, create, add value to this universe, appreciate life, and express ourselves as the one-of-a-kind snowflakes we each are.
You have NOTHING to be worried about with A.I.
…unless you’re already a robot.
Turn away from the insanity…
Hang on to humanity!
As of today, you can begin to slow down; work on not being so busy and distracted all the time.
You can unplug and learn to focus your attention.
And you can meditate to unwind your mind and tap into your intuition.
In doing so, you’ll begin to catch yourself more and more as you’re scrolling and swiping yourself into a cyborg.
Become a scholar again and learn to love learning.
Learn skills and participate in life.
Participate in life!
Participate!
Don’t be a bystander.
Because having a machine make me coffee is not intended to give me more time to watch the news and see what a horrible world this is…
It is intended to give me more time to create a beautiful one.
You may call this vision utopic.
But as I see it, there is no poltergeist here, no ghost in the machine, and no apocalypse coming…
The only end approaching is the “Armageddon of Enslavement.”
I choose to believe in the yin and yang nature of life.
I choose to acknowledge that it is darkest before the dawn and it’s been dark for far too long.
And, since I get to choose how I see this world of mine…
I choose utopia every time.
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Special thanks to Alan Watts for sharing his gifts with us and planting so many seeds in my fertile mind.
Also, thank you to every content creator out there helping to share Watts’ wisdom. In particular:
Mark Watts and the Alan Watts Organization
Wiara
T&H Inspiration
For now…
Enjoy the journey.
-Mike
Is it finally time to embrace your authentic creativity and truly enjoy your life?
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Enjoy the journey!
Mike