byRhea PurohitinLearning CurveDALL-E/Every illustration.Was this newsletter forwarded to you?Sign upto get it in your inbox.Along with the future of artificial intelligence, I write about mid-century American bank robbers.I write scripts for a history podcast, and one would think that it’s the perfect task to outsource to LLMs. I’ve written many of these before, know exactly what’s expected, and am fairly confident I can articulate them in a prompt. I also have existing research so I can give the LLM reliable knowledge to draw from.But when my partner asked me if I’m going to use AI to write them, my instinctive answer was: “No, I want to do a good job.”After some introspection, I realized that my reaction had nothing to do with AI’s capabilities. I was holding on to a quiet assumption: If AI makes writing easier, something important must be getting lost along the way. Reduced effort must mean reduced quality. Because of this irrational thought, I don’t use AI as much as I can—even though it would free me to focus on the aspects of writing I like more.This relationship between effort and perceived value isn’t novel. It’s a human tendency that surfaces in surprising contexts: The American cake mix industry, of all things, grappled with a similar situation decades ago. When cake mix sales fell because their powdered product alienated consumers from the baking process, the industry found an elegant solution: Don’t reduce effort—redirect it.As I dug into the psychology behind our relationship with effort, I saw a parallel in our attitudes to using AI for work. I believe the horizon of effort—the energy and attention we invest in our work—isn’t reducing, it’s shifting. This essay explores how I think we can thoughtfully redefine where we entrust our effort...Become apaid subscriber to Everyto unlock this piece and learn about how:The cake mix industry learned that consumers don't always want things to be easierAI is redirecting human effort toward more strategic and creative endeavorsThe future of knowledge work lies in finding unique ways to differentiate ourselvesUpgrade to paidClick hereto read the full postWant the full text of all articles in RSS?Become a subscriber, orlearn more.
