Stay Calm // Be Careful
We live in a fast pace world, where this breakneck speed can disrupt the way that we process and execute information. When I started working one million years ago, it was analog all the way – ha ha. We still moved fast, I was in that type of industry, but the nature of technology meant that there was only so much we could do in a specific amount of time. Everyone thought, and still thinks, I believe, that technology was going to make our lives easier and free us up. And yes, there are many aspects of technology that do this - and it’s only going to get better, I hope. However, I think it might get worse before it gets better.
The more options you have the more decisions you have to make. As a writer, there’s a possibility of having a machine do all - or part - of your writing. I guess you could see yourself as a great conductor and AI is your orchestra making it happen. Perhaps the creative act will start to morph in this way - your control and decisions over the set-up is the art, not the net result. Or, something like that.
As a business owner, I can see AI as in immense help for some of the work we do in brand marketing. Although a lot of what we do today is anchored in digital, there is still a fair amount of manual lifting. AI will surely automate some of this work, that would be goof thing. As a creative, I can see using AI for supporting the visual, even musical work that we do. Who knows what the future holds now that the lid has come off, and all of us are able to dabble in this emerging technology.
All the possibilities can be exciting, and overwhelming. And that’s why I wanted to address this concept of stay calm - be careful.
Working at speed means that we’re all vulnerable to making a lot of mistakes. The acceptance of iterative design has rescued those of us who think you need to do it perfectly every time. But one of the outlier issues with the speed is carefully monitoring what we say, and how we interact with others. Reacting to information in a knee-jerk way, especially with the proliferation of social media, can get us all into a lot of trouble. So, my girlfriend gave me this phrase, and it resonated, and I’m using it.
Here are some reasons why I think it’s important.
If you stay calm in the face of a perceived threat – whether that is a work-related moment, or a creative experience, chances are, you’ll have the time you need to critically analyze your situation and make the best decision you can make.
How often have we said things we wish we could take back? Staying calm helps us think through our reactions and responses. Being careful means we just might not hurt ourselves, but even more importantly, others.
I thought a lot about the “be careful” statement – and here’s what I think: we should have a moral imperative toward being careful. We are on planet Earth, with billions of other people, if we’re going to inspire a more compassionate future for all of us, we need to take this sentiment to heart. Just remember, this is not always about you. In fact, it might not be about you at all. How we treat our fellow humans matters.