Everything else is achievable with technology

Transcript

Today is the first Monday in my eighth series of 12-week years that I’m doing for myself, but with meetings every Monday with two other people who are doing the same.

We set ourselves some kind of goal or goals for each 12-week period, and we meet every Monday very briefly to describe what’s going on with us and what we’re looking forward to and what we’re aiming for. And by the end of the 12-week period, we have often achieved something quite exciting and dramatic.

If you’re listening to this, you’re perhaps already quite interested, so you may want to follow up by reading a book called The 12-Week Year. It’s not necessarily saying anything astonishingly original, but it does put together a whole package of things actually to do, and I found it very effective. I think my two fellow members of the group have found it the same, and it’s been wonderful to have them both there, hearing me say things I’m going to do and what I’m struggling with or whatever. And often I’ve enormously welcomed their specific suggestions and ideas.

Really, I think everyone should have a group like this.

In fact, I said that today, yet again, in the group, that I just have this really strong feeling that whenever the subject of AI comes up and what the consequences may be, one of the most obvious, and it’s been obvious to me since whenever it was 2022, or whenever this stuff really surfaced and became a big deal, as soon as it started to appear, it seemed to me that all that’s really left for us is to be a human among humans, because everything else is kind of achievable with technology.

I think even people who like a bit of quiet time, like I do, we all really want to be with humans.

And one way that I’ve been getting that every week is by being a member of this group. I say every week – I mean, some weeks I can’t make it, but the general idea is that you try to make it every week. And that small discipline with forgiving group members really has made a big difference.

Thanks for listening.

I’m John-Paul Flintoff, and this has been Voice Notes to the World.

jp at this domain name.