The Acceleration Effect of AI

We know the common refrain by now: the widespread use of AI will cost jobs, and it will mean we don’t work nearly as much.

I would never be so brash as to debate that first point. I’m sure there will be plenty of pain resulting from the rapid expansion of AI throughout almost every industry. My heart goes out to people who’ve already been impacted by this.

But the second point? This theory that everyone’s workload will shrink?

That’s not what I’ve found. If anything, it has increased my work output substantially.

For the record, I have no interest in using AI to do the writing itself. That part still matters too much to me.

But all the mundane crap on the periphery of creative writing? The planning? The marketing? The sales? My online presence with Shopify and my personal website?

Technology has allowed me to streamline so much of that, and it’s terrific. It has saved me a ton of time and headaches.

And what do you think I’ve done with that saved time?

I’ve turned my attention to multiple projects that languished for years.

I’ve created more content. Way more than I did even a year ago.

And I’ve reached more readers than ever before.

Last week, I listened to a podcast interview where the host and the guest were comparing notes about how AI has affected their respective industries. Both of them mentioned they’re working more today than they were a couple of years ago.

And they both said something that should underline this entire conversation about AI:

They’re enjoying their work today more than they have in ages.

Why do you think I’m working more than I did a year ago? Why am I creating more content?

It’s because I’m loving it more now than I have in a long time—and I’ve always enjoyed it. So that says a lot.

I create multiple newsletters, reaching a variety of readers. Do you have any idea how much brainpower that takes? And when you offload a fair amount of busy-work, it frees up brain space for what really matters.

What really matters to me is fresh, innovative content. Actually writing those newsletters and books.

I shake my head when I hear people dismiss AI out of hand, saying it’s ruining everything.

That’s short-sighted, at least when it comes to the creative arts.

Look, I don’t have a “team” working for me. There are no employees who toil to produce my websites or to sell my books and newsletters.

That’s all me. I’m a team of one. And it’s more work than the average person could ever fathom.

The robots, as I affectionately call them, have removed—or at least mitigated—the resistance, the little things that slowed me down. When you gradually eliminate the tedious work, the technical hurdles, and the mental clutter, something interesting happens.

You don’t do less. You do more, but on the good stuff. Because now you can.

AI didn’t reduce my work. It removed friction.

And when you remove friction from something you love, you do more of it.

Dom Testa writes fiction and nonfiction, and has made peace with the robots.
Find his work at DomTestaBooks.com.