I’m in the You’re Not Alone Business

I’m not as personally afraid of our AI overlords as you are. I don’t have an amazing imagination. I am very creative, but I do believe those are different qualities. Creative means ideas, imagination means possibilities. I don’t do a great job of imagining possibilities. The first time someone described to me the possibility of a “stream the entire history of music from your phone” reality to me I thought that dude was crazy. His name was Ron Sobel, a semi-big wig in LA. I believe he might have signed the first publishing deal for Alice in Chains. Anywho, this is maybe 2009 and I still couldn’t fathom the idea of all of music being available to you while you’re sitting on the beach with your lady, which was the future he was envisioning.

So, couldn’t picture Spotify in 2009 and in 2023 my imagination doesn’t permit me imagine a dystopian or utopian AI future in enough detail to shock me. I can read the stories but I can’t metabolize it into the fear that I likely should. But there’s another thing. The big offer from AI of course is right in the name. . .intelligence. I’m not afraid of being outgunned by intelligence. Or rather, I’m inured to being outgunned by intelligence. (boy am I fucking proud of using the word inured, yes I did look it up to make sure I was using it right). From the day I was born, I was next to someone with more than intelligence than me. There’s not a test I’ve seen that my brother couldn’t outscore me on. Ditto for sports. Ditto for trivia. Ditto for music theory. And my Dad is right in the same space, maybe not so much music wise, but he’s a smart motherfucker. My mom, a little more down to Earth as far as book smarts, she was someone who found ways to give to the world that didn’t involve raw intellectual horsepower. My parents made the mistake of assuming I was smart cause I was related to many smart people. They also made the mistake of thinking I’m smart cause I am pretty smart. But that doesn’t mean that’s me, that doesn’t mean that that is my lane. My mom used to say actual shit like “put a helmet on your head, cause you’re not gonna get paid for your looks”. Guess what Mom, fuck off. Maybe I am gonna get paid for my looks. Maybe there’s nothing going on up here, I motion to my brain. The thesis statement of my family was “we’re smart, that’s a substitute for hard work”. My thesis statement is “I’m brave, dedicated and I have an amazing heart”. When our AI overlords really let their nuts hang, they will be smarter than us. But they don’t have an amazing heart. My distinguishing qualities have always been distinct from my intelligence: I’ll say something true on a page, or to a person, or into a microphone that will sting, that will penetrate, that will help you and me feel something we couldn’t apart. It took practice, skill, lessons, studying, reading to get here. But I’m here, I can deliver the goods when I communicate. I’m about to get META. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .that’s why you’re here. You’re reading me cause you hear me when you read me. And when you hear me you hear a human, a scarred human, a hilarious human, a loving human and yes an intelligent human, but I’m not putting that first on my job application. The heart, the spirit, the creativity, that’s been the bread and butter in my professional life.

I’m in the you’re not alone business. You should join me. Business is good.

Music - I am the leader of Heiruspecs. The magic of that group is the togetherness that a band can bring to a genre that doesn’t always have the supportive sound of a live band. And beyond being a live band, we’re a band with multiple voices. When you hear Heiruspecs you hear a group, you can be together with that group. When you listen to us, you aren’t peering straight into the journal of one person, you’re peering into a rehearsal, a meeting, a function. You aren’t alone, you’re at the party. And the bread and butter of what I’ve done in music is the live stuff, that’s the center of me and what I offer.

Trivia - Trivia Mafia is killing it, I’m not involved in it anymore besides for owning half of the company and counting my tens of dollars every quarter. But business is good. The reason it’s good is because it’s a together place at a time when those are falling by the wayside. I bet you a solid 30% of our players are work from home all stars. We create an environment where with minimal outlay you can be connected with your friends in a meaningful way on a weeknight. You aren’t alone with Trivia Mafia and the business of bringing people together. . .business is good.

Radio - This is the one, this is the one I think about cause the bigwigs are creating technology designed to take DJs out of the equation, to take music curation out of the equation, to take locally programmed stations out of the equation. But listen, there are enough people on planet earth right now who want the adventure that is radio. . .where are the songs falling? What are the news stories? What happened in the DJs day? What events are coming up this weekend? What’s the weather like? It’s new music next to random chat, it’s classic music next to a brand new story. It’s surprise within structure. It’s safe adventure. It’s company. It’s you’re not alone while you gotta be alone for work or another obligation. If you do it right you’re drawing people closer to something than they could get all on their own. I had to walk a long ass way today to get my car back and I rocked a funk playlist from Spotify. The songs I knew, I enjoyed. The songs I didn’t know, well Spotify isn’t going to offer those ones to me. I knew all the songs, I enjoyed em, but I was alone. I was alone on my walk until I got some radio going. I’ve always wanted to be around people. And now in some sense I spend half my work day physically alone in hopes of actually sharing my time with more people thanks to the broadcast.

You’re not replacing two people having a conversation with AI. There is a navigation between two souls that I don’t think a computer will muster (caveat, I have a bad imagination). You’re not replacing the adventure of people who are animals, who shit, who poop, who ejaculate, who steal swans and eat them. Why am I better than a robot? can a robot make shit come out of his anus? The answer is no? A robot can’t. I can. Ergo I’m better.

Find a job, find a life that isn’t all about intelligence. You’re about to be outgunned by intelligence. . .like. . .soon. Soonish. Four years? Eight years? And even when you first get outgunned, you’ll stay employed, you’ll stay relevant, but soon. . .you’ll be outgunned. You’ll grow inured to it. You’ll find your heart. And you won’t be alone.