Productivity tools shape our thinking in ways that favor standardization, efficiency, and predictability. They demand structure before inspiration has a chance to strike. They ask for timelines when the problem itself is still hazy. But creativity is not linear. Often, it involves struggling down several blind alleys before finding the right path.
In this new paradigm, the question becomes less about what AI can do and more about how we choose to use it, what we allow it to replace, and what we choose to preserve as uniquely human.
But this perspective gives us too little credit. We have agency, as workers, voters, and participants in the economy, to advocate for frameworks that guide AI’s influence in directions that support human dignity, opportunity, and equality. Instead of letting the sheer efficiency and velocity of technology dictate our path, we can demand social and ... See more
It has become standard to describe A.I. as a tool. I argue that this framing is incorrect. It does not aid in the completion of a task. It completes the task for you. A.I. is a service. You cede control and decisions to an A.I. in the way you might to an independent contractor hired to do a job that you do not want to or are unable to do. This is i... See more
This narrow view of productivity—favoring what can be seen, tracked, or timed—helps explain our conflicted relationship with AI. Yes, impact matters, and it would be overly simplistic to claim organizations don’t reward outcomes. But in many contexts, especially where results are hard to measure, visible effort still carries disproportionate weight... See more
If there is a button one can push that spits out images and it is available to everybody, why on earth would any creative professional push that button? Clients don’t need to hire you to push it. They can do that themselves. The central lie behind these programs is that they are meant for artists. They’re not. We don’t need them and using them only... See more
Humans, obviously, do not create like this. Humans have intentions and purpose to what we do. These intentions are sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, sometime clear, and sometimes nebulous. But we always have emotion and thought connected to what we make. What we create is guided by intent colliding with discovery, and these two states feed each ot... See more