Grinding and Building in the age of generative AI

Generative AI tools have been out there for over a year and, in my typical not-so-fast-follower fashion, I haven't really engaged with them. Instead, I continue to grind on building competencies the old fashioned way. I keep studying languages on DuoLingo, reading books and magazines, and writing this blog, instead of upskilling myself on various tools that could perform these linguistic and intellectual functions for me.

There's a fundamental dichotomy here. Is the task to figure out how to avail oneself of various functionalities the most efficient way or to build strengths for ourselves? We approach this problem differently based on the type of tasks we need to perform. As far as transportation is concerned, we long ago pretty much gave that up and decided that we'd adopt tools (trains, autos, planes, boats) to get us from place to place rather than cultivate the competencies that would allow us to do that better under our own power (walking, running).

That decision has facilitated modernity, but it has come with many many costs. Traditional communities and cultures have been shattered as it became easier to visit distant people and places. As local cultures have slipped away people have struggled to reconstitute them, sometimes rather farcically. The overcoming of distance has also caused us to overconsume carbon with our cars, trucks, planes, asphalt and deforestation.

Much will be gained as people outsource more and more tasks and functions to AI, but much will also be lost. We just can't clearly envision what that will be.