Happy Friday!
I hope you have learned something new this week!
3 Things I learned this week
The Necessity of Novelty
The magic of life is in the novelty of experience. Change and spontaneity give a kind of unspecified energy to the human spirit. The danger of our current “system of living” is that it is based on orchestrated routines established during the industrial revolution. From our schooling, to work, to life goals and rites of passage, our system for living has become too structured, too predictable and too boring.
The deeper issue here is that these routines and cycles of existence that capture days, weeks, months and years, ultimately change our relationship with time. We optimise for speed and efficiency, which leads to a pace of living that distorts reality.
We become disconnected and overwhelmed in the constant cycle of doing more. We wake up and repeat routines like we have done for weeks or months or even years. Without novelty we become enslaved by a societally-enforced paradigm of time and action. We serve those that are “higher up” in the hope that they will one day provide us with enough “wealth” to do what we truly want. In so doing we sacrifice novelty, curiosity and rich experiences that make life meaningful on both a micro and macro level.
Fear of change is common because it involves leaving the comfort of the familiar. However, this change and the challenges it brings are essential for growth. Novelty inspires us, it reminds of the awe of being human and it pushes us to rediscover what it is we truly want out of life.
AI Needs To Matter
The role of AI is not to replace us, but to enhance our capacity for doing things that actually matter.
The first step in using AI effectively is figuring out what actually matters. The evolution of technology is exponential and the tools available today will seem like toys in comparison to those of tomorrow. We need to prepare ourselves for this change, and be conscious in our approach to a technology driven future, or risk losing ourselves in the chaos.
As individuals and societies we must develop a thoughtful approach to how we want to utilise and incorporate AI in our lives. We cannot allow the big companies to decide for us, as their incentives are often misaligned with our best interests.
We must expose ourselves to these technologies, learn to understand how they operate and the potential for their impact. We must experiment and be curious, allowing these pursuits to formulate informed boundaries and safeguards.
Here are some tools I recommend exploring:
Perplexity.Ai - AI language model and research tool
Runwayml.com - AI Video and Creative tools
Suno.com - AI Music Generation
Making Music With AI
I woke up on Monday somewhat defeated. I was exhausted and overwhelmed by the weight of the myriad of things dancing around the edges of my mind. After my second cup of coffee, I knew that I wouldn’t be getting any “work” done. I have come to recognise the impact of mental states in my life. I know that there are times when I am perfectly prepped for deep work, and others where any attempts at complex tasks are better left for a future version of me.
I decided to surrender my ambitions and make some music.
My partner was working in the living room. Neither of us are particularly talented when it comes to musical ability (In fact, even that feels like an understatement).
Despite this, we had written some songs while we were travelling through India last year. Silly songs that were spurred by the emotions of imminent departures, stomach problems and cultural chaos. We dreamed of one day turning them into an album, and this gloomy Monday felt like the perfect opportunity for such a task.
I was playing around with the updated version of Suno.com and realised that we may now have the tools to overcome are lack of musical talent. We refined the lyrics, tested some prompts and generated an absurd techno-pop album called “Churn Your World” in just under two hours.
Here are two of my favourite tracks…
Bad Thoughts:
This song is based off of the difficult emotions of long-distance relationships and the imminent departure we were trying not to think about. The chorus was actually something we would sing whenever one of us mentioned the realities of catching our next flight.
Take Me To The Toddy Shop:
We made this song while we were visiting a toddy shop in Kerala. Neither of us particularly enjoyed Toddy but we fell in love with the experience of Toddy Shops, their hospitality and clientele.
2 Quotes that peaked my curiosity:
"Only the flexibly creative person can really manage the future, only the one who can face novelty with confidence and without fear." — Abraham Maslow
"Play is the highest form of research." — Albert Einstein
1 Question for you to ponder over the weekend:
What could you automate in your life right now? How can new technologies allow you to focus on what truly matters?
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P.S. I have just had some space open up in my schedule to take on some new clients. I am currently working with creators, entrepreneurs and small businesses to develop AI Strategies to optimise work, creativity and life. If you or someone you know would be interested in a FREE discovery call to discuss ways in which AI can save you time and money, shoot me an email - zed@absolutelybrilliant.world
Until Next Week,
Zed