Happiness is Practiced
That is something I've tried my best to believe for a long time. And I do still believe it. What is so unbelievable is how hard it can be to do some times. The human mind is a tricky thing and it is a constant toil to keep it in line. Today's world has so much going on I think the human species is trying to adapt to it. There are many different views on how to navigate this IoT world with its ads and scams and pretty things. Some people seem to think that the internet is to blame for the negativity that is spread in the world. But I think you can make just as compelling of an argument of the opposite. I always look at things, like the internet, as just good tools serving bad masters. The longer these tools are around and the better they get, the easier to use, the more they get abused by those who would wield them for such ends. It is a shame really, that often times sharing something that can bring so much good to the world can end up being used to hurt so many. But again, I would not blame the tool, but the wielder.
I bring up the use of tools because of something I've been seeing a lot of online in the bubbles in which I find myself. In these bubbles I often find viewpoints that are negative of just about anything you could think of. But in recent times it has focused mostly on AI. I find it difficult to listen to some of them, as they seem to have a very narrow and uninformed view of what AI is or how it is used for good in the world. They damn it, and vilify it. Often throwing the label of AI slop on anything they don't like on the internet. It is a sad but predictable state. I understand the anxiety of the impending changes that AI will bring to the market and what it already has. I'm directly affected by it in my line of work. I have attempted to embrace it in as ethical a way as possible. It is undeniable, in my opinion, that AI is here to stay and that it has the power to change the way people work. But I don't think it is certain that it will remove jobs from the market or take value away from people who know how to do technical skills in the workplace.
When I am at my job, I use AI to try to make my coworkers lives easier. I build tools for them to utilize it for their own ends without being prompt engineers to allow them to speed up their workflows to keep up with those who use it in other ways, like writing code. And anytime I am in discussions about the tools I design, I mention that I do not want to remove the human element from the equation. If the request is starting to push into replacing a persons job rather than augmenting it, I push back.
I bring this up because I view this as me doing what I can to create the world that I want to live in. This is how I want this tool to fit into our lives. I find it to be the most advantageous position that, I believe, still maintains my ethics about workplace automation. I want people to feel like people when they work. Like they provide value as an individual and they are not just a replaceable machine. This is one way I practice my happiness. By trying to create a better tomorrow with the tools I have.
