Like Breathing
Reflections on Creativity and Automation
I like to automate things. You know I do. And I like to optimize things too. Which means at some point, THAT - the process of creation of automation - consumes the time that was dedicated to the creation of the thing itself.
When I started my podcast, a fellow podcaster shared their process around creating theirs - the xlsx, the notion, the agents and scripts around it. I appreciate that of course and it was impressive. But I made myself not have it, because in this case, in case of cla creative process, the process of doing it is kinda the point itself.
I heard an author (like a real fiction book author) answer to a question of they'd delegating writing to AI ever and their answer was - would you delegate making love to someone? no? well why would I delegate something I love doing?
Look I'm not against AI assisted anything, and I've seen some truly creative things done with AI. Hell, the cover of this article is AI. And even if you're generating some large amount of content with AI and pushing it in regular basis… it's fine. Everything is fine. You do you. Your content has a different purpose. different audience.
I'm not angry anymore.
And yeah, eventually it started consuming more time - record, edit, come up with description, caption, cover image, share text, different for each platform, and where's the email of the guest??
So yeah, I did it. Or rather started it. I now have a notion database, where I keep all the surrounding material and a bunch of skills that help me research or suggest titles (which are bad usually, I end up writing them myself of course. Naming things is still hard somehow.) write descriptions that LinkedIn wouldn't hide from the world, generate summaries for people who need to decide to listen or not…
Now the key is to stop myself, not even because I'm at the risk of delegating thinking or delegating creativity. I know I'm not, (at the risk of delegating creativity) because when you own something 100% you don't doubt for a second that what AI blopt out is bad and "not you".
The risk is different. the risk is that I keep automating, and polishing and continuously improving. I'll sink into that obsessive-compulsive hole, where each step of mine creates more steps.
It's a bit like a LitRPG. Every optimization unlocks another optimization. You level up your workflow, which unlocks new abilities, which reveal new inefficiencies, which earn you enough experience to level up again
Social media works the same way. One post gets more likes, so you post again. That one performs even better, so now you should optimize the thumbnail, the hook, the posting time, the title, the platform, the comments, the newsletter. Every success creates another expectation.
Agentic workflows are no different. You add a planner, which now needs a critic. The critic needs an evaluator. The evaluator needs metrics. The metrics need dashboards. Eventually, the system starts growing faster than the problem it was supposed to solve.
The common denominator with all three? THEY GIVE YOU ANXIETY. Okay, they give ME anxiety.
Automation does give me both satisfaction and anxiety. The way litrpg does. the way social media does.
Every system eventually starts optimizing for itself…
The metric replaces the purpose.
The infrastructure replaces the work.
The routine replaces the joy.
The automation replaces the act.
Whenever the machinery around the work becomes more interesting than the work itself, it's time to stop and ask what you're really optimizing.
Tides - it's like tides. It should be like tides. you automate, you go back, you automate some more, you go back
Marc was right - a lot of the things that made me good as a software engineer, are hurting content creation.
And vice-versa to be honest. I again come back to the understanding that I take everything I do with too much reflection about how I do it and with too much creativity.
I know I'm extremely out of place with my reflections about creativity and ambitions of creators. Create something first, preferably something genius, and then you earn the right to reflect about it.
And is this the place to even talk about all this? Let's face it we're all here for business. But I can't help myself. And I'm finally owning doing what I can't not do. I take all aspects of my life this way…As one of my dear friends said “you pass life on level Hard”
Building a product or building a business really is not about creativity. If someone says it is, they are selling you a dream so then they can sell you a course on how to create businesses. Business is about money, about network, about favors. Yes about bringing value. of course. But nobody needs this overly philosophical, creative attitude of mine.
So maybe work should just stay work and creativity should be creativity.
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I saw a reel the other day where a South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho speaks about his creativity process - he actively avoids grand rituals and dramatic routines. He stated, that his ultimate goal is to make films "as naturally as breathing" without making a big deal out of it.
And I think that's how everything in life is supposed to be. Or at least we are allowed to do that, when it comes to creativity.
The moment I lose this, is the moment I need to pause. Otherwise it becomes "job", it becomes a must and it creates pressure, and I don't like what I'm creating anymore.
I remember a documentary about Miyazaki's movies, where it was pointed out that there are scenes in his movies that do not advance the plot in any way (as opposed to Hollywood movies), they are there to create the atmosphere.
There were periods in my life (and I think there still will be) when I feel guilty for not working. When just sitting without anything feels like I'm losing precious time to nothing. I'm not building, I'm not learning, I'm not progressing.
We optimize away
idle time - we open social networks and consume them or (slightly better?) create content
walks - we listen to podcasts while we walk
reading - we take notes and think of the next article we'll create based on that reading
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I'm staring now at all I wrote and I don't know what is the point I'm trying to make. And THAT already contradicts what I just wrote…
I think my point is - I'm ready to accept that work is work, and creativity is creativity. And in work the obsession with automation can come as a benefit - I can go deep and automate the shit out of everything (let me know if you need that)
In creativity though? In my podcast, in my little articles I pour my heart and soul into? That I'll try to keep as breathing. No special mood, no special routine, least amount of AI, least amount of automation…
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If you've subscribed for some AI-in-SDLC content, please don't go away. I'll write about it, I have thoughts and ideas. But it's summer (at least on this side of the world), and it's sunny(well, technically raining atm) and there are fresh berries and fruits and life is good. Let's just take a moment, shall we? Put your face under the sun, drink that coffee, bite that orange, read that book and don't follow it all up with a video, picture or a post.
And if you've read this far and you liked it please let me know, would you?
Thanks ♥️
Nune