I was reflecting the other day on the combination of age and social relevance and how it can be challenging. My involvement in this has been a conundrum for me of late. In an ever-changing, and fast-developing world, how can we stay relevant to society? Remain helpful to others when we feel we have something still to give?
Of course, there comes a point where we take a step back and allow the speed of the world to pass us by. But when we still feel we have a voice to offer, but many of the things we’ve learnt over our lifetime have become less significant to the industries we’ve been involved with, how then do we adapt our wisdom in this fast-paced society?
For me, it will take the form of learning. AI, for example, is undoubtedly a daunting veil hovering above many industries. Some that I work in (film, literature and the arts) are having a tough time adapting as people who hold the money and make these things happen, are holding back for fear of making the wrong choices.
As much as I would love to throw in the towel to this new agent, I find myself resigned to learning about it. By learning about how AI could work for me, creatively, I can be more in tune with how my knowledge can move within it. Adaptation and reinvention have always been the backbone of the arts.
Expression comes in many forms, and using technology to reinvent oneself may seem to many like dancing with the devil. But the only way to overcome an adversary is to first understand it, and then its weaknesses. Somewhere between the devil and the deep blue sea is a new horizon. And our relevance begins the moment we start solving others’ problems rather than resigning ourselves to our own weaknesses.