What will you do with the freedom GenAI offers?

You’re still working, even after AI “automated” parts of your job. You’re still accountable for what you deliver using these tools. The only difference is that you might be using less brainpower now which, I believe, is a bad thing overall, especially when you have no idea what you can do with that “extra” freedom.

The Freedom

When you ask someone, “What do you want to do with your life?”, the question registers perfectly well in everyone’s brain, but an actual answer rarely comes out. I, for one, still cannot answer that.

If AI helps us save time and gives us the freedom to do things we never could before, how many people can do anything with that freedom? If we knew what we really wanted to do, we would be doing that already, “less time” was rarely preventing us from doing it.

So if it isn’t time, then what is preventing us from what we want?

Even in an idealistic world where people end up learning new things in this “new freedom”, how many of them will actually be able to do something with that knowledge? Learning has never really been a problem (at least in the past decade), even before LLMs came in people were still learning what they wanted to learn, how many people do you know who have completely shifted their lives because of this?

Clearly, there are two things all humans spend the majority of their lives interacting with:

1. Human <–> Systems (your work, tools, technology, & institutions)
2. Human <–> Human (interpersonal relationships)

Out of the above, there is definitely some improvement on the first one, LLMs saved us some time, but has it changed our lives completely? Humans thrive when both types of interactions are in balance, which we all know, it never really has been, we wouldn’t have a “midlife crisis” if we knew what we wanted.

So far the only real benefit is to the Systems (the capitalistic & business part) with the arguments of “efficiency” and “productivity”, but what about the Humans, has this improved our lives? Has it improved our relationships? What about our mental health? Has it improved our creativity?

The problem isn’t time, it’s mindset.

The History

History is supposed to be a good teacher, let’s look at some past events which had somewhat similar events going on, and see how they turned out.

1. Industrial Revolution (late 1700s–1800s)

The Industrial Revolution introduced mechanization, which increased production but often at the expense of workers’ well-being. Factory workers faced long hours (14–16 hours/day), low wages, and unsafe conditions.

Factory owners (the system) prioritized profit over worker safety, leading to grueling work schedules and unhealthy environments.

Improvements in life quality came much later through labor unions and government regulations addressing child labor and workplace safety.

2. Post-WWII Automation Boom (1950s–1970s)

Automation was expected to reduce work hours & increase leisure time. However, productivity gains were directed toward economic growth rather than individual freedom, leading to increased workloads instead of reduced hours, i.e., the system took the time, not the people.

3. Internet & Information Age (1990s–2000s)

While the internet provided unprecedented access to information, it also led to issues like distraction and information overload for many individuals.

I seriously dislike social media apps like Instagram. They haven’t really changed anyone’s life., Oh bhupesh, people were able to open up new career opportunities, do you think the same people would become homeless or poor, if not for Instagram?

Once again, the only real benefit was to the Systems, humans are now more worried about their online presence than their real-life relationships, and the system is profiting from it.

What’s the point?

I have hope, humans when it’s time have always been able to adapt. Unfortunately, I can’t confidently say in a chaotic world that it will work out for us. Every single thing that has been touched (invented) by humans has flaws in it, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

The hope is collective, hope for fellow humans, and the systems as well, all the revolutions we just discussed ultimately turned out good for us “now”, but we know they weren’t necessarily great for people back then.

All I care about is humans, AI can go fuck itself, I worry about what the next 5–6 decades look like for humans and their lives, what I ask you to do now, is think and ask, What can this new-found freedom do for me? to yourself and your friends & family, this time I want humans to win instead of systems.