I recently found out that a YouTube channel stole one of my videos and created an AI short form version.

It's bizarre to hear an AI voiceover use my own words to warn about the dangers of becoming dependent on digital technology. One of the main themes of my work is that every technology comes with a set of tradeoffs, most of them hidden by their nature or intentionally by marketers.

Given the irony of this particular thief's dependence on AI, I think it's a good moment to talk about the tradeoffs we make when we rely on digital tools to do creative work for us.

Well, really I just want to talk about one major tradeoff:

By using AI to do the creative work, you are missing out on the whole point of creating something–the process itself.

Brandon Sanderson, the best-selling author of the Mistborn series, gave a keynote talk on this very topic a few months ago.
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"The most important thing to understand is that the process of creating art makes art of you...The book, the painting, the film script is not the only art. It’s important, but in a way it’s a receipt...Because in the end of it all, you are the art. The most important change made by an artistic endeavor is the change it makes in you."

I don't write music just to have a finished product for people to consume; I write music because I love the process of writing music. I like noodling around with a scale until I find a riff that's interesting. I like tweaking it by trying out different rhythms or combinations of notes until it feels right. I like showing the band that first demo version and seeing the look of excitement, or judgment, flash across their faces. I like working on that song for months in between our setlists and hearing it evolve one tiny alteration at a time until it's finally showcased in front of a live audience.

Could I have AI do that for me? I know a lot of other "artists" are topping the Spotify charts by doing so. But then I would miss out on the hundreds of hours of the process that change me along the way. I wouldn't develop my taste, my skills, or my ability to express myself through audiowaves amplified and transmitted into an eardrum of a living human being. I'd also miss out on all the moments of joy and excitement that come along with figuring out the perfect solution to a creative challenge.

More importantly, I wouldn't have the story of going through the process that makes the art meaningful in the first place.

This person who used AI to steal from me is hurting themselves more than they are me. Because if they actually wrote in their notebooks, like the video claims, then they wouldn't need AI to steal ideas for them. They'd be thinking on paper, using their mind to explore creative ideas, and training the skills of cognition that's only possible through the process of writing.

This process of thinking on paper leads to creative insights, the kind that are impossible to achieve by shortcutting the process.

Is it a slower process? Yes. But I'd argue it's a more satisfying and meaningful way to experience life.

New YouTube Video:

I just published my longest and most comprehensive video yet.

It's a 54-minute guide to setting up a custom Bullet Journal that is perfectly tailored to your specific needs.

The video starts with a basic setup as described in Ryder Carrol's The Bullet Journal Method. But I go way beyond the basic system by describing how to use modular Elements and basic design principles to truly customize your notebooks to be an extension of your mind.

If you've always wanted to start a Bullet Journal or you're looking for some ideas of how to get more from your notebooks then check it out. It's got something for beginners and verterans alike.

Making this video was a long process that changed my understanding of Bullet Journaling and planning on paper.

I hand-drafted a 13-page checklist and guide to pair with the video so viewers could easily follow along. Making the hand-drafted guide really stretched me to think about how to improve on the original Bullet Journal system and to consider what other creators lacked in their explanations of the method.

From concept to published video I probably spent over 100+ hours. I truly feel like I understand these systems and concepts like the back of my hand now.

Could I have used AI to make the guide for me?

I'll let you guess how I feel about that.

Prompt:

Do you do creative work for the product or the process?