[…] we ought so far as possible to achieve immortality […]
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book 10
We Often Celebrate Progress and Productivity
Progress is often seen as humanity’s ultimate goal, with productivity praised as a means to achieve it.
By this view, Swarovski Optik’s AX Visio binoculars manifest humanity’s ultimate goal. Equipped with AI for instantly identifying 9,000 bird species, the binoculars are highly advanced and highly efficient.
Job well done. Mission accomplished.
Now we can kick back, relax, find a hobby, and enjoy ourselves.
Oh, wait… what?
Doesn’t this ruin the fun of bird-watching…?
Marc Newson and Swarovski Optik create bird-identifying AI binoculars | Dezeen
We already had a hobby. We just made it obsolete.
Hobbies Are Different in Nature
“Focus on the path, not the goal” is an expression we often use, rarely mean, and seldom follow.
Maybe we are not to blame, though.
Almost everything we do in life is for external goals.
When the goal is external, the path is merely tedious. Under these circumstances, all means for making the path easier, shorter, and faster – even bypassing it altogether – are blessed. Hence the sanctification of progress and productivity.
Hobbies are different, though, as they are aimed internally. The end goal of our hobbies is our own enjoyment – nothing else. Anything else is a by-product.
In the context of hobbies, “Focus on the path, not the goal” isn’t just a cliche, and we don’t need to try hard to follow it.
Yes, we can use a gadget to identify 9,000 bird species instantly, but we aren’t better off doing so. We are off target – and immediately recognize it.
No Need to Completely Shun AI
As with anything else, there is no need to make avoidance of AI into an ideology.
There are plenty of ways for AI to enhance our hobbies, without making them obsolete, for example, by naming your favorite bird visitors and getting notified when they stop by, using the Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder.
Hobbies Are Uniquely Good for Us
Hobbies are the only type of activity ultimately aimed internally at our own good. As such, hobbies are indispensable for our well-being.
The unique nature of hobbies also makes them an AI-proof source of meaning, unlike other, external, sources of meaning – such as work, which soon probably be made obsolete by AI.
It doesn’t matter if AI will ‘solve’ our hobby – like Swarovski Optik’s binoculars solved birdwatching – we can just ignore it and keep doing our own thing.
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