#robots #love #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #humans #emotions
“What does a robot know about love?”
That begins an Etsy TV ad, to make the point that Etsy conducts its commerce with more human activity than robot activity.
But, as time progresses, more robots and other non-human technology will be used in commerce, factories, research and many other endeavors now mostly conducted by humans.
That could have an effect on current jobs, and the jobs of the future.
For some workers, technology is moving too fast. More work that was previously done by humans is being done by machines.
] That means some good jobs are being eliminated, and those who’ve lost those jobs are having difficulty finding alternative jobs that pay as well.
It’s important to note here that no matter who is serving in the U.S. government, those jobs likely are not coming back.
With the advancement of artificial intelligence, many people who thought their jobs would never go away may have a rude awakening sometime in the future.
Make no mistake: machines and humans are not equivalent. That statement can have a good, or not so good, connotation.
For employers, machines have fewer needs – no vacations, no illness, no pensions etc. That can save them lots of money.
Machines, on the other hand, break down. If they can’t be fixed immediately, that can be a real cost to employers.
Also, customers and clients mostly prefer dealing with humans rather than machines. Though machines can try to talk back to customers, no real conversation takes place. Plus, machines have no power to actually solve problems, if a customer has one. With varying degrees of success, perhaps a machine can put a customer in touch with a human.
AI is attempting to be creative by compiling the past creativity of humans into a mechanically driven recitation.
There is no machine that can be as creative as a human. For human creativity is raw, original and direct.
Going back to the Etsy ad, robots have no ability for human emotion. Human emotion is something we all crave, no matter what type of interaction.
So, as useful as robots or AI can be in some instances, they are not human.
But, as humans, we still have to look over our shoulders lest robots or AI replace us in the workplace.
In many cases, it’s not a matter of whether that will happen. It’s a matter of when.
As humans, we have the raw, original and direct creativity to prepare for most eventualities. When replacement comes, we can, and should, be ready. Longing for the old days will not prevent the inevitable.
Peter
Tag Archives: Etsy
GIVE WITHOUT EXPECTING RECIPROCATION
#gifts #giving #receiving #reciprocation #leaders
France gave the U.S. The Statue of Liberty.
In an Etsy ad, Americans are perplexed that they now have to give France a return gift.
They decide to give France a cheese board, because of the French love of cheese.
A cheeseboard does not compare to the Statue of Liberty, but the ad indicates the French were thrilled with the reciprocation.
The ad raises an interesting point: do you feel the need to reciprocate when given a gift? Or, do you give gifts expecting some reciprocation?
If you expect reciprocation, do you see yourself as a giving person?
First, good leaders give. They don’t expect to get anything back, but they usually do, in one form or another.
Others are simply transactional. They are the proverbial reciprocal back-scratchers. They would not dream of scratching anyone’s back if their backs were not scratched in return.
Most of us, though, understand that it is better to give than receive. We give because it’s the right thing to do. We expect nothing in return, though we may get something – even if it is just personal satisfaction – back for what we give.
There is joy in giving. If you are in business, you want your customers to feel that you have given them much more than they paid for.
You can do that without it costing you. You can do that by just being pleasant to deal with, showing empathy to your customers’ needs or making them feel good about the transaction they are undertaking.
You can also do that by helping them use your product or service to maximum effect.
For example, if you sell tools in a hardware store, you can show them how they might build or repair whatever they need the tool(s) for.
For some, it takes effort to be nice or cordial. For others, it comes naturally. You don’t necessarily have to be everyone’s best friend, but you can make everyone feel that you are.
That way, they will want to patronize your business again and again.
You may want them to feel you are giving them a gift without expecting something in return, yet, their return is to keep patronizing you.
Good leaders, and good businesspeople, give and get. They never take. The act of taking means that those being taken lose, while the taker wins.
The act of giving means the giver expects nothing in return. The receiver wins. The giver wins, too, in some way.
So, if you give a gift, expect the receiver not to have to immediately reciprocate. Undoubtedly, he or she will reciprocate in due time, in some fashion.
Giving a gift does not have to be a transaction, though it can often turn into one.
Peter
France gave the U.S. The Statue of Liberty.
In an Etsy ad, Americans are perplexed that they now have to give France a return gift.
They decide to give France a cheese board, because of the French love of cheese.
A cheeseboard does not compare to the Statue of Liberty, but the ad indicates the French were thrilled with the reciprocation.
The ad raises an interesting point: do you feel the need to reciprocate when given a gift? Or, do you give gifts expecting some reciprocation?
If you expect reciprocation, do you see yourself as a giving person?
First, good leaders give. They don’t expect to get anything back, but they usually do, in one form or another.
Others are simply transactional. They are the proverbial reciprocal back-scratchers. They would not dream of scratching anyone’s back if their backs were not scratched in return.
Most of us, though, understand that it is better to give than receive. We give because it’s the right thing to do. We expect nothing in return, though we may get something – even if it is just personal satisfaction – back for what we give.
There is joy in giving. If you are in business, you want your customers to feel that you have given them much more than they paid for.
You can do that without it costing you. You can do that by just being pleasant to deal with, showing empathy to your customers’ needs or making them feel good about the transaction they are undertaking.
You can also do that by helping them use your product or service to maximum effect.
For example, if you sell tools in a hardware store, you can show them how they might build or repair whatever they need the tool(s) for.
For some, it takes effort to be nice or cordial. For others, it comes naturally. You don’t necessarily have to be everyone’s best friend, but you can make everyone feel that you are.
That way, they will want to patronize your business again and again.
You may want them to feel you are giving them a gift without expecting something in return, yet, their return is to keep patronizing you.
Good leaders, and good businesspeople, give and get. They never take. The act of taking means that those being taken lose, while the taker wins.
The act of giving means the giver expects nothing in return. The receiver wins. The giver wins, too, in some way.
So, if you give a gift, expect the receiver not to have to immediately reciprocate. Undoubtedly, he or she will reciprocate in due time, in some fashion.
Giving a gift does not have to be a transaction, though it can often turn into one.
Peter
PASSION, BILLS AND LIFE
#passion #bills #life #DoWhatYouLove #jobs #LoveWhatYouDo
“Passion doesn’t pay bills.”
So says the beginning of a TV ad for Etsy.
This makes one think of childhood, and something everyone’s parents may have said.
You may passionately want to be a rock star, the conversation then proceeds, but not everyone can be a rock star. You have to find something steady that will make you a living.
Play your guitar at home, during your off hours.
It’s certainly true that not everyone who wants to be a rock star will be. Competition is fierce, and there’s a lot of talent out there. The difference between one who makes it as a rock star and one who doesn’t may involve a lucky break or two, or meeting the right person.
But the conversation with one’s parents almost always seems to devolve into encouraging the child, regardless of age, to settle for something he or she may not want.
We can extrapolate further. How miserable, and regretful, will this child be 40 years later that he or she did not pursue his or her passion?
Very likely, a lifetime of paid bills may be no consolation.
One should have a twofold consideration in the pursuit of life. What do you WANT to do? What do you have to do to get what you want? If you don’t get what you want immediately, what do you do in the meantime? The second part is: What do you do to ensure you have a good life throughout? What plan do you put in place to make that happen? How do I make enough to live well, save well, invest well for the future etc.?
The answer is to be both idealistic and practical. Give yourself some time to pursue your passion. If you fail initially, put a Plan B in place as you continue to pursue your passion. What you earn in Plan B can buy you time to get to Plan A.
Sock away a portion of what you earn toward your future, and invest it prudently. Don’t raid that stash for frivolous expenditures.
Perhaps you are the person who has not yet found his or her passion. Perhaps you started with a relatively secure Plan A, and it is treating you OK. You are content. Yet, you want something more.
(Remember, too, that secure Plan A’s are fleeting. They may not last as long as you want them to.)
Or, you may have a passion that is not necessarily paying your bills, but you want to keep pursuing it.
In short, if you have a passion, don’t be afraid to pursue it. Pursue it because you enjoy it. If it pays off financially, consider yourself fortunate. Do something, preferably something you don’t hate, to accommodate your practical needs for as long as you need to. (Hopefully, for as long as you want to.)
Try to live the life you want with few regrets, so you can reach your death bed not wondering what could have been. Not everything you want to happen will happen, but make sure that if things don’t happen, it is not because of something you did, or didn’t do.
Passion may not pay all of your bills, but if they pay some, you would probably have achieved your goals. If they don’t pay any bills, make sure your Plan B does not stop you from pursuing your passion.
Peter
PASSION, BILLS AND LIFE
#passsion #bills #life
“Passion doesn’t pay bills.”
So says the beginning of a TV ad for Etsy.
This makes one think of childhood, and something everyone’s parents may have said.
You may passionately want to be a rock star, the conversation then proceeds, but not everyone can be a rock star. You have to find something steady that will make you a living.
Play your guitar at home, during your off hours.
While it’s certainly true that not everyone who wants to be a rock star will be. Competition is fierce, and there’s a lot of talent out there. The difference between one who makes it as a rock star and one who doesn’t may involve a lucky break or two, or meeting the right person.
But the conversation with one’s parents almost always seems to devolve into encouraging the child, regardless of age, to settle for something he or she may not want.
We can extrapolate further. How miserable, and regretful, will this child be 40 years later that he or she did not pursue his or her passion?
Very likely, a lifetime of paid bills may be no consolation.
One should have a twofold consideration in the pursuit of life. What do you WANT to do? What do you have to do to get what you want? If you don’t get what you want immediately, what do you do in the meantime? The second part is: What do you do to ensure you have a good life throughout? What plan do you put in place to make that happen? How do I make enough to live well, save well, invest well for the future etc.?
The answer is to be both idealistic and practical. Give yourself some time to pursue your passion. If you fail, put a Plan B in place as you continue to pursue your passion. What you earn in Plan B can buy you time to get to Plan A.
Sock away a portion of what you earn toward your future, and invest it prudently. Don’t raid that stash for frivolous expenditures.
Perhaps you are the person who has not yet found his or her passion. Perhaps you started with a relatively secure Plan A, and it is treating you OK. You are content. Yet, you want something more.
(Remember, too, that secure Plan A’s are fleeting. They may not last as long as you want them to.)
Or, you may have a passion that is not necessarily paying your bills, but you want to keep pursuing it.
Fortunately, for either of those types of folks, there are programs out there that can help you generate a potentially lucrative income with a strong, part-time effort, while enabling you to help others at the same time. No specific education, experience or background are required – only the willingness to look at something you may never have thought you would do.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
In short, if you have a passion, don’t be afraid to pursue it. Pursue it because you enjoy it. If it pays off financially, consider yourself fortunate. Do something, preferably something you don’t hate, to accommodate your practical needs for as long as you need to. (Hopefully, for as long as you want to.)
Try to live the life you want with few regrets, so you can reach your death bed not wondering what could have been. Not everything you want to happen will happen, but make sure that if things don’t happen, it is not because of something you did, or didn’t do.
Passion may not pay all of your bills, but if they pay some, you would probably have achieved your goals. If they don’t pay any bills, make sure your Plan B does not stop you from pursuing your passion.
Peter