Walk in the Woods

Nik Curfman 3/14/23 Nik Curfman 3/14/23

Vol III: #69 Remote Work, AI, and the Future

Because my new job doesn’t have an office, we keep overheard low. By leveraging a virtual personal assistant in the Philippines, copy writers in Romania, and ChatGPT, we keep expenses down. By keeping expenses down we keep our prices down, and our clients- plumbers, electricians, landscapers, etc- keep their marketing costs low. You see?

The term ChapGPT burrowed it’s way into the popular zeitgeist this year. The pro-tech crowd lauds the chat bot while the usual suspects huddle in the corner, forever afraid of the future. I first used a chatbot three years ago to help write ads for a few clients. Chat GPT isn’t new or immoral. It’s a tool. And like any object, the morality lay of the object in the hands and intent of the user. My business uses ChatGPT to generate copy for websites, emails, and ads. We still employ copy-writers. And by using a chatbot, they produce four times the volume of work. Then we pass along the savings to our customers- who are all small businesses.

I’m not sure why humans freak out at every technological advance, last year it was NFTs, another vastly misunderstood tool. If time travel were real, I’d want to see how people respond to the wheel or toilet or the spoon. My guess is when Billy Bob the caveman decided to use a rock to shovel his food into his mouth, his buddies called him weak or posh. Look at Billy, poor bastard thinks he’s too good to use his hands.

I assume most people react to new technology with caveman skepticism because they don’t know what’s in it for them. In my quest to be wise, I’ve learned to ask “what’s possible?” rather than develop a strong opinion to one side or the other. Fifteen years ago, I never thought Facebook or Twitter would be ground zero for every idiot with internet access or that I’d work remote. But in 2023, I work from my couch and manage a team of people spread out across the planet.

So, what’s in it for you? Allow me to offer one scenario, of many, but it’s mine:

Admittedly, technology can be used for evil. As soon as the printing press was invented- to mass print Bibles- pornographic material was replicated and distributed. Interstates allow drug dealers to ship meth and heroine all over the country. And crypto is being used by human-traffickers. (Which is really dumb because all crypto transactions are forever listed on public ledger.) With few exceptions, all tech has wheat and tares. And we can’t be scared of the future. It’s coming one day at a time, might as well embrace it.

Nik Curfman 6/5/22 Nik Curfman 6/5/22

Abstract: The Future is Better

A poem, about the progression of humanity.

He’s winning.

Oh, sure. I wouldn’t expect the newsman to say so.

Why would they?

“Life is Getting Better” doesn’t sell,

not in the age of magnified blemishes and flaws.

Oh, sure. There’s plenty to cry on.

I read the headlines last week,

damn shame what happened down in Uvalde.

But, murder rates and crime ain’t what it was when I was a kid,

though the newsman won’t ever let you know.

Africa was not better, and neither was Europe, or Asia.

Does anyone really want to travel back to 1925 Belgium or Nigeria or Plano, Texas.

Do you want to give up a flushing toilets, two-day delivery, and video chats?

Oh, sure. We’ve got some big mountains to climb,

but I know we will see the top long before the doomsday prophecies come true.

Oh, sure. That too. ( To whatever ‘but what about this’ you got in mind. That too.)

Lemme finish with this: Anyone who says they’d rather live in a different era is daft.

The past wasn’t better than today, but it is a safe place, forever frozen in our minds.

It’s predictable and constant.

I choose to believe the best lay ahead of us, in that foggy future,

uncertain and to be determined.

Nik Curfman 10/13/20 Nik Curfman 10/13/20

DJ: #86 Goal Setting and Fear of the Future

I know I made goal-setting a mountain to be moved. When I think about my life a year from now, what I want, how I want it to look, it not dramatically different than it is today. (And a few things are out of my control i.e. coronavirus, the economy, etc.)

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In my last session with Kirk (business coach,) he asked me to set goals before our next meeting. That was nearly two month ago. Next week we will convene to go over my goals. Of all the tasks and homework he’s given me, new goals are the scariest. He asked me to envision my future, a thing I am reticent to do.

As I prepare for next week, I am forced to confront my fears. I am afraid to admit what I want, and simultaneously afraid of what I want. I am scared of wanting the wrong thing. I fear failing in pursuit of the wrong thing. Lord knows I’ve failed…a lot.

What’s the point of having goals anyway, if what I want is always wrong and/or I never seem to get there? Seriously. What's. The. F-cking. Point?

(In my head, I know what’s happening here in this moment. My mind has closed and my vision narrowed. Life is suddenly about immediate results and binary choices. It’s as though all the wisdom, love, and grace from this year disappeared. I need to be honest with myself. I need to ask a few questions, and challenge the narrative in my head.)

I’ll start with stating the obvious, as Paul put it, “It’s no longer I who lives, but He who lives in me…and my life is now lived by faith in the holy Son of God.” My life is radically different than it has ever been. And I aim to keep it that way. I do not fear the future or failure. How can I?

I know I made goal-setting a mountain to be moved. When I think about my life a year from now, what I want, how I want it to look, it is not dramatically different than it is today. (And a few things are out of my control i.e. coronavirus, the economy, etc.)

So what do I want? I want to have written 300 more Daily Journal blog post, 100 poems, and 12 Learnt posts. I want to complete 12 major art works and 150 small sketches. I want to lose another 45 pounds of fat, payoff another $10k in debt, and increase my savings/investments by $10k. But, these are the easy goals to set. They are mostly a continuation of what I am already doing.

By this time next year, I also plan on furthering my spiritual education, and I’d like to be in a healthy romantic relationship. Both of these are hard to admit, but for separate reasons. It’s hard for me to tell people I plan to go to ministry next fall because I feel like I’m too old for it.

And the other thing? The relationship? I learned anything this year it’s that it doesn’t matter how much I want something. If the other person in the relationship doesn’t want to be in it, (whatever the reason) there’s nothing I can do but let them walk. How can I plan to be in something when I can only affect half of the thing?

I suppose I could work up the courage to ask a woman out, which would be a small victory of a sort. Of course, in order to ask a woman out I need to be in a place to meet her. Maybe my goal shouldn’t be to go on a date, rather to meet someone new. That would be nice. That approach reduces the pressure to produce a relationship- I can go years without being attracted to anyone.

What a blog. I feel like a just processed through some major stuff. Now I’m gonna go make a smoothie.

Thank you Lord for pulling me back from the ledge. I am loved and worthy of love. I do not need to fear the future.

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