We’re creatures of habit.
Our brains are built for times when we lived in small tribes, with scarce resources, and the constant threat of predators loomed large.
But times are changing. Fast.
And as I watch improvements in AI, I’m reminded of an idea I once heard from Jeff Bezos:
In a world where everything changes, focus on the things that never change.
For Bezos, these were low prices, fast shipping, and exceptional customer service.
But what about the rest of us?
Chances are, you aren’t building a trillion-dollar ecommerce empire. And chances are, you still want to live a good life.
So how can you and I prepare for what’s coming?
What ideas are durable enough that we can build our lives on them, even as technology uproots our core assumptions about the world?
As far as I can see - the old ones.
Think about it like this:
How will your local accountant react when his entire job is automated?
Well, if his moral hierarchy is structured around being an accountant, I can’t imagine it’d go well.
But what if it wasn’t? What if our accountant’s aim was to provide for his family, or be a lifelong learner, or to alleviate suffering?
All of a sudden, things start looking up.
The more durable our principles, the more change we can withstand.
And yet, in recent years, we’ve built lightning-speed, hyper-addictive infrastructure to mainline the newest, most flimsy information into our eyeballs 24/7.
What could possibly go wrong?