mister automate

How to make the most of your one lifetime without getting carried away.

Congratulations! You've been issued one lifetime. No refunds, replacements, or extensions.

To maximize enjoyment, begin by planning all the wonderful things you'll do once life settles down. Set ambitious goals. Picture the adventures, the laughter, the unforgettable memories.

In the meantime, watch videos of other people making theirs.

Should a friend pull into your driveway, honk twice, and yell something about a canoe and a shopping cart, do not act impulsively.

First, assess your schedule, energy levels, and whether a better opportunity might arise next weekend. Consult your five-year happiness plan.

If your friend drives away while you're calculating, don't panic. There will be other Saturdays. Approximately 3,000, assuming you live long enough.

Should you actually join the adventure, remain vigilant. You could be accomplishing something important instead.

Suppose you're paddling across the lake with your friend when he leans too far over the side, flips the canoe, and plunges you both into the water. He resurfaces with a lily pad on his head and a frog in his shirt.

You burst out laughing.

STOP!

You've committed three serious violations.

1. You failed to schedule your fun.
2. You laughed without first determining whether the situation was funny.
3. You appear to be enjoying yourself without consulting this handbook.

Please return to shore immediately.

For future incidents, schedule fifteen minutes of spontaneous laughter daily. Set an alarm. Practice until your laughter sounds like a flock of turkeys falling down an escalator.

If laughter fails to occur, try harder.

REMEMBER: Never allow the pursuit of happiness to interfere with your happiness plan.

What boggles my mind at times is to consider the cost of clutter.

The price might be low, but the decision cost can be immense.

Where should I keep this? What should I do with this? Will I need it in the next few months? Should I throw it away?

It's painful to think of the amount of time and effort I've dedicated to some of the trinkets in my bottom drawer.

Every spring-cleaning effort adds to it.

(Oh, no, please, I'm not suggesting people should let their lives turn into a mess - spring cleaning feels great)

But one thing that can help is to decide how you are going to make decisions before you start making decisions.

This can apply at work, too. Emails, tasks, and file organization can end up sucking way more time than their value.

Give it a try!

Watching a video of the new Tesla roadster driving upside down and flipping down, my first thought was, that had to be the most expensive marketing campaign ever.

(Literally no practical reason to drive upside down guys)

The math simply didn't make sense.

Digging into it further, I realized that the car could bypass security checkpoints, traffic, and potentially go over 300mph.

That's it. We definitely need new ways to break laws.

But more importantly, having a rocket company that lands and reuses rockets and a car company uniquely positions you to build things that no one else would even consider.

So.. What does this mean for regular people?

If you want to do something that a big AI company isn't going to eat up in the next 3 years, this actually means a lot.

Take stock of your close connections, your passions, your assets, experiences, etc.

On at least some micro scale, your are positioned for something where no one can compete.

In a world that is in the middle of being turned upside down, I'd suggest it's worth your consideration.

Tavus recently hit the news with their highly realistic AI talking heads.

Exciting for a demo, but I'm struggling to find a place in the economy that I agree with.

False representative -

So you want to fool your customers into thinking they are getting human support? Destined to backfire as soon as you get found out.

Video production efficiency -

Go ahead. Flood the internet.

Role play -

Looking to up your sales game or prepare for an interview? Genuinely a great use case, but a voice-only agent gets you 95% of the value.

Sign language -

Doesn't text work?

If you want to learn sign language, okay...

Gaming -

If gaming is a big priority in your life, more realistic experiences could be valuable.

Companionship -

No. That is abhorrent. Don't throw away your life like that.

After writing all this, I decided to read their solutions page. Yes, they are trying to take the human out of human experiences.

I'm sure their intent is good, but I disagree with the direction.

Use AI to spend less time on computers, more time with people.