You might need this video this week. You’re welcome. H/T to Adam Frith (check out Adam’s YouTube!) via Rohan’s blog.

Sometimes the people in our life need to know that you’re on their side. In the will to winning culture people may assume malicious intent or threats from those challenging them. Those who assume the malicious intent may need to vigorously be reminded that you are on their side. You come in peace. You’re not here to hurt them.If the price of winning at all costs is that your neighbors turn into threats, then how do we move forward? How does our culture adapt for better?

My friend Jen asked me that question the other day. The context of the question won’t help you understand my message to you. It’s the question itself. The question invites you to reflect on the story of you — who are? how did you get here? what made you you? And given all that has happened to make you who and how you are right now, why bother doing the next thing? The question is an invitation.

“if one does it by purely electronic means, one tends to get fixed on one vibration, one frequency of vibrato, which becomes dull… music should be a projection of a thought process in the mind of a human being.” - Daphne Oram via the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop Documentary (link below)Musicians, like other creators, manifest into the world their thoughts and ideas in the form of their creations. These creations — like these words you read now — are a result of a decision. That decision is the result of a process shaped by life. What feeds that process are other creations and ideas manifested by nature and people. The will to create new and even heretical ideas and things is an important part of a cycle. A virtuous cycle that produces and evolves the world you and I now exist in. The only constant is change, of which everything is born from.

I can’t understand the need to humiliate people publicly. The need to “win.” I grew up with people who had to “win”, and it left a bad taste in my mouth for “winning.” Of course, I enjoy winning, but I don’t know that I need to win. The need to win can cause people to do things they may later regret. Toxic behavior towards a kid, toxic behavior towards an employee, toxic behavior towards another person — win at all costs no matter the price.But there’s always a price. You could interpret this post any number of ways. There is no Straussian’ message behind it. Instead, it’s a musing on how much “will to winning” I observe in the culture, and how much I don’t believe we truly understand the cost.

If you prepare for the things that could go wrong, you won’t be as bothered when things do go wrong.The last 3 months taught me that prior planning (and preparation) prevents piss poor performance. I’ll have to let my Dad know there are 7 P’s now.

That’s the question that launched XRAI Glass — wearable AI glasses that subtitle the world for deaf people. Dan Scarfe asked the question when he noticed his grandfather, 97 years old, lost his ability to hear. The culture needs more and more “why can’t we" and “what if” style questions. We need push to operate more at the margin of curiosity and risk versus preferring the safety of the majority.

You may be working and collaborating with people that don’t have your depth of experience. For those people, working with you is a privilege. It’s also a privilege for you.For me, to be able to do something fun with people, get paid for it, and make others happy is a privilege. Never take for granted the experience of those who are sharing the moment with you.

I promise, I am not a doomsday prepper and this blog won’t become an AI blog. This blog is about our nature, self-effectiveness, and how to see beyond what we see. We can’t see not see AI and its effects on us and our culture — good, bad, or otherwise.“A growing number of women are seeking connection and comfort in relationships with chatbots — and finding their approximation of empathy more dependable than many human partners’ support.” — click here for the article.

I don’t know if ever there was a time in my life where I would have wanted this device. However, I see why some might. What I wonder most: how will devices like this change our relationships with other humans?In 1953, Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 451. In that story, Bradbury imagines a dystopian future world where people engage with their wall-mounted televisions and wear shell-like devices over their ears to listen to music. In that world, people lose track of their history, consume the lies spoken to them by people in power, lose the ability to critically think, and lose the ability to embrace conflict. I don’t believe the world is ending, and I don’t believe we’re entering into a type of dystopia. Instead, I believe we are entering a world where AI may (or may not) shape our lives a bit more. Based on how LLMs are developed, they may cause us to stagnate and regress as a society if we don’t create more. The process of creativity is born from the realization that there is something more beyond the margin of the present. And then the creative person acts upon her realization and she crosses over the margin and into the frontier of the unknown. The creative makes her art, she ships it back to those she seeks to serve, and her work might be accepted or rejected — this is the creative’s way. There is a bravery that comes from being creative. And tools that may (or may not) help us be brave and endure the pain and anxiety that comes from produce work that might not land, doesn’t help us be more creative. I’ll step off the soapbox now.