As we navigate the rise of AI and automation, our traditional human domains are increasingly shared with machines. This development is also a threat to many of us humans because now we have competition in aspects of human expression. The challenge we face now is to “human better” than AI just to be able to claim our expressions and creativity. At the same time, this advancement has unlocked for us new opportunities to apply our creativity in ways that have not been seen before. However, to explore this opportunity, we have to invest in the cultivation of these gifts to manifest their full potential. In a recent discussion with Adelle, we explored this line of thought and unpacked what it takes to hone one’s gifts to get to an optimal stance for the most efficient decision-making.
The journey starts with identifying those unique gifts through noticing and taking seriously one’s preferences for excellence. Many a time, we undermine our individual preferences with respect to fitting in and social belonging. However, this comes at the cost of suppressing our innate desires, which sometimes can be the spark of the gifts within us that are there to express our excellence. When we respond to that spark and take it seriously, it often comes with a clear vision of a potential reality that could manifest.
That potential reality is daunting to us because, in most cases, it is beyond the limits of the current reality where we are. Now, this difference can be a reason for disbelief and hesitation. There are always many good reasons not to do something. However, this hesitation and decline leads us to miss the opportunity that is a gift to us. It’s a gift because it’s rare for one to be in the right position to receive such a vision. Hence, we have a duty to cultivate that gift and bring it to fruition.
The cultivation starts with polishing up our skills to a higher level of excellence. Over a long time, as the excellence starts to develop, we unlock our creativity. We develop this divergent perspective in this specific domain that allows us to see the ever-changing mystery of the skills we are developing. This creative capability gives us “Authorship” which leads to establishing an “Author-ity” in that specific ability. What this means is that a new perspective of applying a specific skillset that only we can articulate has been unlocked for us. We now have our own “way”.
This new “way” deepens our knowledge of the vision we are in pursuit of and increases the resolution at which we are perceiving it. We can now see more details that we have to account for. At this point, we realise that it’s going to take more than just us to build it. As visionaries, we must position ourselves as orchestrators, guiding a symphony of collaborative efforts to construct the reality of that vision. Surrounding ourselves with like-minded individuals—those who share our commitment to this vision—is crucial. We have to become very wise and efficient decision-makers.
A key element to becoming good decision-makers is to identify the “optimal spot to be” that allows us to make the key decisions that we need to make to keep this new reality flowing. In that spot, there’s a certain kind of “wholeness” that we are sensitive to, which gives us insights into what is likely to destabilise its balance. It is here that we learn to harness the lessons of failure, to iterate rapidly and to evolve our creations through continuous experimentation.
Thus, we become “world builders,” architects of realities that extend beyond our individual capabilities. This role does not end with construction but continues as we inspire and teach others to see and appreciate this world as we do. What emerges is not just a new reality but a legacy—a testament to the power of human creativity in an age dominated by algorithms.
This is our call to action in an era where AI assumes the tasks that require less human essence. We are not just participants in this new age but pioneers and visionaries. Let us embrace this opportunity to build worlds, to create legacies of human thought and creativity that machines cannot replicate. Let us go forth and be world builders.
