[Image From Zabala Innovation]

My GCFC colleagues and I recently finished an intriguing webinar on the effective use of AI in our day-to-day work as an under-capacity staff trying to figure out new methods for enhancing  the achievement of our mission of creating jobs and economic impact through the film and media production industry.  The class was led by AI Owl, and our instructor for the two-day course, Jen, was fabulous!   She taught the experienced and novice users like me, with equal aplomb.    

While I certainly see the value in utilizing artificial intelligence to speed up mundane tasks that keep us from person-to-person relationship building, as an actor, I maintain a healthy bit of skepticism on the subject due to the potential for misuse of tools like AI.  In our rush as a society to eliminate the human factor, and the accompanying effort to squeeze extra work into the workday (without a pay increase of course) in the name of greed disguised as increased productivity, flies in the face of the old axiom “work smarter not harder.”  The question that came to mind for me though is “why are we in such a hurry?”

I find it ironic that the more we become human doings rather than human beings, we actually have less time in our day than ever before in an age driven by what I like to refer to as a drive-thru culture.  We don’t take a break to meet colleagues or loved ones for lunch and a little fellowship to recharge our batteries and instead eat lunch alone at our desk while we continue to work.  The full-throated use of virtual meeting technology has continued post Covid, rather than any consistent return to in-person meetings where real relationships are truly formed.  

We write ourselves, and in many cases, our families, out of our daily calendars.  I remember well my parents making the time to get to my big basketball or football games on time, in the late afternoon/early evening.  It meant the world to me and gave me the confidence that I could do anything I set my mind to because I never once questioned their love for me, or that they also cherished what was important to me.  My wife and I tried to model that same behavior when we became parents ourselves.  Is it any wonder that families are under more stress, and that we are getting sick and mentally rundown more frequently?  Small wonder given the only part of our bodies we all too often seem to take the time to exercise are our fingers on a computer keyboard or smartphone.  

Technology as blessing or curse is an age-old conundrum.  It can fall more on the latter when we use it in proper balance to enhance our overall lives and not just as a means to “burn and turn” folks at work.  Not being in a hurry means that we actually try to enjoy the journey, and don’t lose sight of what is most important in personal or professional life; people.  Some of you might remember the great song by the Stylistics – “People Make the World Go Round.”  

Our over-reliance on computers for nearly everything in our existence means wars will not necessarily be won by those with the most bombs, but rather by those with the ability to shut down systems without having to fire a shot or put boots on the ground.  To put a finer, scarier point on things in a movie related way, the more we put AI in charge of every single aspect of our lives, when will they ultimately surmise based on the “data” that human beings are the greatest threat to the survival of our planet?    Few thought-provoking missives that have been presented as warnings in films shown on the big screen, have not eventually come to fruition.  Think the Matrix (1999) and Terminator (1984).  Go back and check out that scene in the Matrix where the computer program known as Agent Smith, likens us to a virus.  To the young people in the back of the room, AI is not a new concept, but has been around since Alan Turing’s foundational theoretical work on the subject in 1950.  The Turing test was referenced in the AI themed film Ex Machina (2014).

To be clear, I am not trying to be an AI hater with this piece.  Thanks, AI, for getting me link information more quickly by the way.  LOL.  It is merely the vehicle I am using to make the point that we need to be diligent in our human efforts to use technology thoughtfully, ethically, and honestly as a means to make our lives fuller.  Not as a way to create more work for us or for nefarious purposes, but rather for getting our work done smarter and more efficiently so that we can have more time available for vacation and recreation or just to smell the roses.  Spending more time with our friends and loved ones, and recreating can lead to healthier and dare I say longer lives.  Europeans seem the understand that truth.

So, stop being in such a hurry.  You are missing the best part of life; the journey.  The dash between when you were born and when you transition.  There is a reason that dash looks so small on a headstone.  It goes by in the twinkling of an eye.  If you are running at a breakneck pace to “cut to the chase” as they say in the movies, you will miss so much of God’s beautiful creation.  Try using technology to help level up your fun factor and not just cram extra work into your day.  Back to the headstone.  We tend to see statements like “devoted husband and father”, “beloved mother”, etc.  I guarantee you will not likely see “he or she worked their asses off and died trying.”  

Close the laptop for a moment then and take some time to enjoy this wonderful summer day.  Heaven knows we will be complaining about the cold and snow Cleveland winters bring before we know it!

Cheers,

Lowell Perry
Chief Diversity Officer, VP Corporate & Community Engagement