AI Lectures And Interviews On AI Can Be A Major Trap

[Jayson G]

For any entrepreneur out there, the current AI revolution could be a trap for you. 

I noticed something odd happening in me over the past 2 years since ChatGPT came out. 

Almost every day I got caught up in listening to some lecture, talk, interview, etc. from really smart people like Lex Fridman guests, Eric Schmidt, Sam Altman, etc. 

Now don't get me wrong. They're all highly intelligent people. Yes most of them are capitalists. But what I'm trying to highlight in this post is something specifically nuanced. 

As an entrepreneur, this can take you down a deep rabbit hole that perhaps is not meant for you, aligned with your values, etc. It can take time away from what you genuinely feel is most important. 

Ask yourself, are you listening to these videos because it connects with a life purpose that is genuinely authentic, a beautiful vision, your core values? or are you getting caught up in this never-ending daily excitement, unprecedented levels of excitement of the new AI product coming out every day. This excitement can blind you from who you really are, and what you really value. 

Now truthfully I have 2 programmers in my team working for 2 business projects that involve AI, but I guess the details matter here. I'm deciding to leave the programming aspect to them, focus on my vision, and focus more on aligning with my true values. 

I'm just saying this could be a trap, not necessarily that this is a trap. It could be a trap in the way crypto was a trap back in 2017 (or now for that matter given the current spikes, but I mentally got out of that trap thank god)

Just to give you a perspective on how many entrepreneurs fall for this trap: I once listened to a podcast episode by Tim Ferriss back when NFTs were ubiquitous. He told the guest that all his big CEO friends all stopped what they were doing to pursue NFTs. And Tim is connected with all these top CEOs. That's how much NFTs took people away. Crypto. I'm seeing similar patterns with AI. Except crypto and NFTs is not an "everything-industry-changer" like AI, so AI is a much bigger long-term concern. 

Similarly, I think I've been in this AI trap. It's crazy because its SO ubiquitous right now. It's literally everywhere. It can be a big problem for that self-actualizer who wants a beautiful life, a life aligned with their core values, yet hasnt had their money needs met, and so they fall into this AI trap to meet their money needs (with somewhat good intentions, to build their great life of course) but in turn get caught up in a deeper and deeper rabbit hole. 

Today I almost seriously considered learning Python, going down this path. Now Python, I'm sure is amazing for many of you. But for me? It is so not aligned with my values. I'm not that heady, logical, technical person. I consider myself more an artist, visionary, etc. I tried to convince myself of all the amazing products I can build with Python, but then I looked deeper and although all those products would be cool to build, if I mastered python, its really not what I want. I'm convincing myself because of the sort of power Python would give me in this AI revolution, and that core motivation is flawed fundamentally. It's rooted in power and money, I'm guessing the same thing that drove these hyper-capitalists. 

On the other hand though, AI can be a great path for making money if you're financially stuck. Like I said, I have 2 people in my team developing AI products. But I need to keep distance, not get sucked down the wrong rabbit hole, stay clear on my vision and values, and not fall into this trap. 

I'm particularly highlighting this trap because this trap just started, and it will get way more of a concern as time goes on. Perhaps this trap can manifest in all kinds of ways. 

But again, AI in itself is not the trap. AI could be a trap for you though, depending on who you are, what your values are, what your authentic vision is.

Edited November 19 by Jayson G

[Rafael Thundercat]

So Traps are Contextual. It can be a Trap for someone and not a Trap for Others depending in what developmental stage they are. A 5 to 9 job can be a trap for some and a great thing for another. 

[Jayson G]

7 hours ago, Rafael Thundercat said:

So Traps are Contextual. It can be a Trap for someone and not a Trap for Others depending in what developmental stage they are. A 5 to 9 job can be a trap for some and a great thing for another. 

Yeah I think so. 

The details matter, in my opinion. 

It can be a trap for you depending on why you're doing it, if perhaps you're doing it as a stepping stone or not. Are you learning skills from that job that will contribute to a greater purpose? 

Some people just want a really simple life so a job may not be a trap for them. 

I guess the details really matter. 

But at the same time, I think context alone isn't what defines a trap. Like generally speaking, a 9 to 5 job is wage slavery. No matter who you are, that is the case. There are inherent negatives to that path. There are inherent negatives to this AI hysteria going on too. So their is a sort of inherent trappiness to certain things lol and these could be really time-wasting traps. I guess not all contexts are equal in terms of its health.