Audacity in the Age of Answers

In the recent years, I have been using AI a lot more than I might have intended to. And yet, I noticed that personal projects were moving slower than I would have liked them to.

It got me wondering what might be the reason.
And, as obvious as it might seem, the current conclusion is what I have here. First off, I’m not referring to using AI to reply to emails and such. I write the emails and replies, and might ask AI to trim it, as I am descriptive in initial drafts to ensure details are not left out.
The use of AI is more for testing idea needs, building on concepts, researching third parties I’d need to make it happen, and more.

And the reason I have currently arrived at, for why projects seem to be going slower than I would have expected them to, is because in the past, any seemingly audacious project was more a leap of faith, with us seeing about 5 steps from start to finish. We would dive in, and figure our way out, often taking longer through the process, making plenty of mistakes, course-correcting, but finally getting there.

Now, thanks (or no thanks to AI), we can perceive the end goal before we even head out towards the edge for the dive. From there, multiple options unfold, giving unimaginable clarity of the path ahead. With it, comes numerous micro-decisions and choices each day. Leaving us far more exhausted but having far lesser distance, though perhaps avoiding any major mistakes, each day.

Put differently, imagine if the road from A to B had 5000 steps, in the past we were oblivious to it. We just knew 2-3 waypoints we might pass along the way, if we managed to stay the course and didn’t veer off. Now, as excess information flows in, we are presented with choices and challenges each step of the way. You could take that step, or step slightly towards the left for easier terrain. You could continue on this path, but there’s a puddle 5 steps down. Would you like to go on a slight detour right away, or decide when you get to the puddle.

And of course, the details can sometimes bring an overwhelming sense of burden of the task every day, where earlier, we were merrily oblivious to it, simply glad we had crossed the last hurdle, while we prepare for the next one.

While details are good and increasingly obsessed about, there is a beauty, a meaning and a purpose in the abstract and the unknown. And perhaps they will increasingly become the trend in the sheer number of projects that are possible; and the ones that eventually make it across the finish line.