AI and a Realization About It
this has been on my mind for a while now. if AI can code, write, design, think faster than me — then what am i even doing here? what's the point of getting good at something if a machine does it better?
i don't mean that in a sad way. i genuinely want to know.
the wrong question
i used to think about it like a competition. like, how do i stay ahead? how do i prove i'm still worth something? and that's exhausting. because the moment you make life about proving you're better — better than others, better than machines — you're never gonna be satisfied. there's always something ahead of you. and you're just running.
i've seen people like that. optimize everything. resume, portfolio, personal brand. all of it perfect on the outside. and they're miserable. because the goal was never to feel fulfilled, it was to feel validated. and that never lasts.
what actually hit me
there's this idea in Islam that the best people are the ones most beneficial to others. not the smartest, not the most productive. the most beneficial. and when i really sat with that, something clicked.
because if the point isn't to be better than AI, but to be useful to other people — then it doesn't matter what a machine can do. a machine can generate a meal plan but it's not gonna sit with your friend at 2 AM when everything's falling apart. it can write code but it can't feel the frustration of a junior dev who's lost and actually care enough to help them through it.
that's not a capability thing. that's a choice thing.
about creativity
yeah AI can make art and music and write stuff. and honestly some of it is pretty good. but i noticed something — AI creativity is like... remixing. it's pulling from everything it's seen and combining it. and that's impressive but it's not the same.
when you make something that comes from your actual life, from things you felt, from stuff that hurt or made you laugh — that's different. it's messy and it's not optimized and that's exactly why it matters.
don't let AI take that from you. express yourself even when a machine could technically do it "better." efficiency isn't everything. pick your own flavor.
naruto taught me this
okay hear me out.
naruto — the anime — actually taught me something real. it's fun to struggle. to figure things out the hard way. to fail and get back up and try a completely different approach. there's a joy in that process that you lose when everything is instant and optimized.
if someone just gave me the answer to every problem before i encountered it, sure i'd be more productive. but i'd be so bored. the hard way is where the stories come from. some processes aren't meant to be shortcuts.
think for yourself
honestly the scariest thing about AI isn't losing jobs. it's losing the habit of thinking for yourself. when algorithms decide what you see, what you think, what you believe — you stop being a person with opinions and become a person with a feed.
be critical. question things. form your own views. because if you don't, you're just moving through life on someone else's agenda without even realizing it.
so what's the move? i think it's pretty simple. be the kind of person who actually cares about other people. not in a performative way, just genuinely. create value for others. be a good partner, a good friend, a good teammate. see things through empathy, not just data.
AI can do a lot. but it can't choose to care. you can.