About a week ago, I saw ChatGPT being discussed on television. In case you haven’t heard about ChatGPT, it’s a computerprogram which effortlessly generates coherent, lengthy texts on nearly any subject. Imagine the possibilities. Unfortunately, instead of taking the discussion seriously, the tv hosts turned it into a joke. They inserted a few quips, cracked a few jokes and hurried through the subject matter.
Still, they invited a Google representative to join the conversation. My hopes were up. Alas, to no one’s surprise, he painted a positive picture of the whole deal, with the journalists providing little to no resistance to his remarks. And conspicuously absent in this conversation: the laundry list of jobs that might be jeopardized in the future due to AI.
Now, I’m open to the possibility that my concerns are misplaced, but I expect the media to have experts on, who can add something of substance to the discussion. Let’s delve into various facets of the argument and seek out the truth. It’s too bad, but that’s not what the media is interested in – at least not anymore. Be real here. What happens when the media reports on a certain subject that happens to be one of your passions? I know what happens: you pick out one mistake after the other in their reporting. And it usually could’ve been fixed by ringing up one local expert, who would’ve gladly helped.
Why is that? Is it just a lack of time on the part of the reporters? Allow me to suggest it’s something more than that.
It’s disinterest. The media, in theory, should cover a broad range of topics. And to effectively engage with any given topic, one must possess a certain level of knowledge – which, in turn, demands time and effort. So it shouldn’t surprise us when reporters just don’t care and opt out of doing intensive in-depth research. The best we typically can hope for, is them relying on a single expert as the authority figure – which, of course, doesn’t invite the type of critical discussion we actually require from the media.
Let me shift topics slightly now, to the notion of passion, which is a step above mere interest. Let’s first acknowledge that it’s entirely possible for someone to possess little knowledge, yet exhibit passion for a particular subject. But typically, when someone’s been passionate about something for some time, they will gather and read everything on the subject they can. They’ll seek out and process the information. When engaged in conversation with a truly passionate individual, there’s no way you can’t notice. Their body language opens up and their energy just rises. You’ll hear critical insights, presented in the form of, “Conventional wisdom suggests this, but here is my perspective, along with the rationale behind it.” It’s difficult to fake.
Passion is an inspiring force, and sadly, it remains a rarity. But make a list of names you admire and you’ll discern a major commonality: they all had at least one major passion in their lives. So if you recognize passion within yourself or others, cherish it with all your heart and soul!
Yours sincerely,
Vincent J. Dancet