Over the weekend conversation turned, as it often does, to AI and its forward-looking implications for, well, just about everything. One friend said that when interviewing job candidates he asked if they had used Chat GPT to help write their cover letter and, if not, why not? He believes it's a great tool for helping kick out initial drafts, and I get that.
Another topic of conversation was power-washing. I've never used a power washer and have always outsourced the task, though in truth we've gone long spells without even having it done. Many of my friends, however, own their own power washers, do it themselves, and derive a great deal of satisfaction from it. I totally get that. As my regular readers know, I too get a lot out of just sweeping a porch or driveway or even from collecting fallen branches from around the backyard, breaking them up, and putting them in stacks of kindling. There is a near-primal pleasure in the simple act of instilling order. There's also the second order benefit of the reflectivity that comes when I'm doing yard work, which often results in blog posts (though they are, to some extent, repetitive by now. That vein of ore may be tapped out).
If I were to dollarize every action I'd probably have to admit that it would be smarter to outsource the hell out of all of that, join a country club, learn to play golf, cultivate relationships with rich people, and grow my business. But I ain't like that. Admittedly, I also kind of procrastinate on yard work but that's beside the point.
But back to my main analogy: is thinking and idea generation sort of like power-washing or yard work? Do we deprive ourselves of both satisfaction and growth opportunities by outsourcing the function to a bot?
One thing is sure. I have a limited empirical basis for judgment. I haven't engaged with the bots enough just yet to offer an informed opinion. Then again, I'm a busy guy, and playing with bots would limit the time I have available to blog.
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