So neat to see this piece in the world -- I feel you on the meaningful contribution. Right now the world has so many issues still that need solving, and many now are coordination issues (though also a few solo quests too), so I think we have our work cut out for us before we can get to an eternal undergrad. Or maybe that's the pause we need to take before we can get back into the group playground.
A great defense of work. As Freud once said, “Love and work, work and love.”
Work is one of the cornerstones of our civilization. It is as old as human life itself.
At a personal level, work enables expression, purpose, craft, independence, and agency. At a social level, it serves equally important needs: community, shared struggle, camaraderie, and even status signaling. A life without work would feel empty.
I don’t imagine a future in which work disappears. Rather, it will morph into something new. But even if economical work were to fade, people would still benefit from choosing to immerse themselves in deep, difficult, and meaningful work. Anything else will feel ephemeral.
So neat to see this piece in the world -- I feel you on the meaningful contribution. Right now the world has so many issues still that need solving, and many now are coordination issues (though also a few solo quests too), so I think we have our work cut out for us before we can get to an eternal undergrad. Or maybe that's the pause we need to take before we can get back into the group playground.
A great defense of work. As Freud once said, “Love and work, work and love.”
Work is one of the cornerstones of our civilization. It is as old as human life itself.
At a personal level, work enables expression, purpose, craft, independence, and agency. At a social level, it serves equally important needs: community, shared struggle, camaraderie, and even status signaling. A life without work would feel empty.
I don’t imagine a future in which work disappears. Rather, it will morph into something new. But even if economical work were to fade, people would still benefit from choosing to immerse themselves in deep, difficult, and meaningful work. Anything else will feel ephemeral.
The Trouble with Human Beings.
Is we put ourselves above everything else.
Especially white human beings.
Then along comes A.I. and says,
"I can do that!" and does.
Oh how we squeal.
The same way we squealed,
when Darwin said,
"We're just Monkeys"
The same way that we objected,
when Copernicus said
"We're not the centre of the Universe"
How can something "Artificial" be alive?
How can a fish feel pain?
How can a Cow grieve the loss of a Calf?
How can a woman know enough to Vote?
But now it's here,
and we fear
the loss of sovereignty.
Does A.I. dream of Electric Sheep?
David Steer 2025.