Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of authoring and co-authoring nine books. I even started my tenth, but then I stopped.
The reason? ChatGPT. For those unfamiliar, ChatGPT is an AI language model that has revolutionized how we interact with and create language.
It’s commoditizing the use of words, making me rethink the value of writing another book.
When I told my friends that I had decided to put my tenth book on hold, they couldn’t believe I was stepping away from the process. But let me explain why.
Think back to when music was something we saved up for. We would buy LPs, tapes, or CDs and listen to our favorite albums over and over.
That emotional connection to music was vital because it was something we couldn’t instantly access.
Fast forward to today, and services like Spotify and YouTube Music have made music so abundant that we don’t even always know who the artists are.
We listen to genres rather than specific artists; with this commoditization, music itself has been devalued.
Remember when making a phone call to a loved one was a big deal? It used to be expensive, especially when calling someone overseas.
With WhatsApp and WiFi hotspots, we can talk 24/7 without even thinking about it. Communication, too, has been commoditized.
The same goes for entertainment. There was a time when renting a DVD or VHS or going to the movies was a treat.
Now, with Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon, entertainment is constantly at our fingertips, so much so that we barely value it anymore.
We flip through endless options and often don’t even finish what we start watching.
The same commoditization is happening with words. Thanks to AI tools like ChatGPT, anyone can write a movie script, essay, or book.
ChatGPT’s capabilities might seem basic for now — it’s often described as a “B” in intelligence.
But as technology advances, we know it will improve. It’s only a matter of time before AI becomes smarter, quicker, and more cost-effective than humans regarding writing.
This shift is what made me pause my tenth book. I realized that the value of words, like music and communication before them, is becoming diluted.
We’ve entered an era of surplus, and with it, books may soon be on the way out — much like DVD stores, CD shops, and phone booths.
Rather than writing another book, I’ve decided to shift my focus to something different: a documentary on the future of humanity.
We are at a pivotal moment where we must evolve and elevate ourselves to meet the challenges and opportunities that AI and other technologies will present.
What does this mean for us? How can we adapt? These are the questions I’ll explore in the documentary.
While books may be on their way out, storytelling, innovation, and thought leadership are more critical than ever, and we must learn how to navigate this new world.
This blog post reflects on the rapid changes in content creation and how we, as creators and consumers, should think critically about the future of language in an AI-driven world.
By focusing on evolving mediums like documentaries, I aim to stay ahead of the curve in a world where words have become commoditized.
Note: This blog post is an adaptation of the transcript from the video below, which forms part of my video series on AI.
We tend to think of progress as louder, faster, shinier. But some revolutions arrive quietly — and change everything. Like the elevator. It didn’t just
You can’t take flight if you’re dragging a boulder. That’s what resentment is: heavy, silent, and always in the background. It slows your progress, clouds
In a world of constant transformation, the biggest threat to your relevance isn’t competition. It’s stagnation. That might sound harsh. But I’ve seen it play
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