It used to be good enough just to copy others. Now, with AI in the hands of billions, there’s little value in copying.

For instance, take programming. Five years ago, building apps, websites, or games required a non-trivial amount of skill, and getting your first project off the ground was an accomplishment. Now, AI can generate most starter projects in hours, if not minutes. I think this decimates the reward, both internal and external, of actually completing the first few projects.

First, it’s less impressive, which, in my opinion, matters. We like the feeling of pride we get when we show our work to others, especially when just starting out. It’s sad to diminish the relative value of someone’s work when they are just starting.

Second, it’s less satisfying for us. For those who just want to build useful tools, modern technology is great. But, for those who want to feel a sense of reward for creating something, it’s sad, I think. There’s still lots to build, but for most projects, especially starter projects, the internal payoff’s been greatly diminished.

This might have long-term consequences, because to get to the point where you can build something truly original, you first have to build many things which are unoriginal. The end goal of making something new is still just as valuable, if not more so, but the journey to develop the skills and original voice seems more mundane than ever. I also suspect that the next generation, who learns from AI will be significantly less technically competent, as they may never need to understand the technology they are working with.

I think this will place an upwards pressure on originality and novelty. Now that both the technical barrier to entry and the cost of producing unoriginal work is so low, society will start to value original ideas more than ever–doubly so if we reduce the rewards of the journey towards becoming original and skilled. If the world becomes flooded with less original, less technical users of AI, the value of technical competence and originality will skyrocket.