When everyone is super, no one will be
Our future in an AI-driven world holds many promises. One such promise: the democratization of the technology industry.
ChatGPT helps generate prose without requiring you to be a great writer. DALLE-2 generates novel images without requiring you to be an artist. We are witnessing the production of tools that give out superpowers previously accessible only to those with deep technical knowledge.
A potential implication of this was succinctly stated when Syndrome, the supervillain antagonist of Pixar animated classic "The Incredibles", gleefully cackled, "And when EVERYONE is super, NO ONE will be!"
What happens when the average person is capable of generating an online business from a simple prompt? What will that mean for those of us who have constructed our identities around being makers, developers, or creatives? Will the world be flooded with chatbots and form builders as indie hacking becomes accessible to all?
No.
As I reflect on another year having passed, I once again find myself staring at my side project graveyard, with another patch of land having been freshly allocated for the new additions sure to arrive in 2023. As an experienced software engineer with the desire to make.. if I'm already super, why don't I make more things that actually see the light of day?
I don't know the answer, but I'm reasonably confident that whatever it is, it extends beyond me. Just because we CAN do something, doesn't mean that we WILL, even if we WANT to; in a world where technical skills are democratized, persistence and execution will continue to matter above all else.
As we delve into 2023, a year full of AI-based promise, let's remember that many of us already have superpowers.. but having superpowers doesn't mean you'll use them, and it's only using them that counts.
Let's ship some stuff :)
Cover photo by @tkristin on Unsplash
