“Hey, what do you do for work?”
“Many things, mainly building stuff by writing code.”
“So how do you stay relevant in the age of artificial intelligence?”
If only I could have a dollar for each time that I’ve had this conversation.
One day, nobody will have to wonder about AI’s role in society, because we will have worked through the ambiguity to wield whichever tools were available in our time. I think that the real question people are asking is more about a fear of the unknown rather than feeling left behind.
It’s important to define, “relevant” beyond some mythical, hyper-productive state where nothing can throw us off-course. Steady growth over time is more fitting. The honest, day-in, day-out balance of learning to swim in rough seas instead of sinking below the surface.
It’s what we grow up doing as kids, adapting to the world around us, and something that we continue figuring out as we progress through various stages of life.
Moving through these shifting realities is a skill that everyone can must learn. Staying afloat in rough waters is a practiced art form. It also happens to be the kind of “talent” that keeps you moving when the path forward is hard to define.
Working to stay “relevant” is just part of being human.
Personally: I want to use (mostly) digital tools to turn ideas into creative outputs for other people to find. But it’s a super noisy space! The internet has always elevated the possibility for talented folks to emerge from anywhere on the globe, and it’s only going to get faster and more intense.
Creative work viewed in a vacuum will always seem crushing by way of direct comparison…so we can’t play that game. We need to develop a different set of skills that can’t be reduced to numbers on a screen.
So what is the answer?
“Random but relative creativity, as a human.”
I heard this quote on the most excellent Photowalk podcast. This really speaks to the tension that I feel around what it means to develop the “talent” of staying relevant. Looking for ways to apply what you know today to learn something you might be able to wield tomorrow.
This isn’t some business-minded shtick: it’s what we do every day just by being human. No matter your field of work, your phase of life, or your future hopes, you are the only person who can both view and wrangle the world in the way that you do.
This also means that your life has to be valued beyond the output of your work. There’s more to you than meets the eye. The rest of us need to learn from your perspective and steady progress; demonstrating that momentum is more impactful than chasing definable success.
Maybe making a buck each time someone asks about AI isn’t the sustainable strategy that I need to further my career. But working toward a future where those outside factors don’t damage my creative potential? That sounds like a “talent” worth developing.