It is evolution vs extinction

You would have all seen the Ghibli styled trend taking over your feeds. 

For those that don’t know, Open AI released a new image generation model, that allows users to recreate images in the style of popular Japanese animation studio, ‘Studio Ghibli’.

The entire social media landscape is awash with the Ghibli styled AI recreations, from personal pictures, to Bollywood scenes, to memes. The novelty element of the exercise is what seems to have gripped the masses.

But at the same time, there is also a very strong undercurrent, that is villainising the entire activity and the technology at the heart of it. 

Here’s why:

Over the years, Studio Ghibli has come to be known across the world for their high-quality animated feature films that feature hand-drawn figures.

These works are labor-intensive, made by a dedicated team of craftsmen who work under the guidance of their founder, Hayao Miyazaki. For example, take The Wind Rises, where each frame of the film is hand-drawn and painted with water colours. One scene in particular, which depicts a crowded market, took more than a year to complete.

Now, AI can generate those exact images and scenes, in mere seconds. Critics claim that it takes away the the allure of the “art form”, making it less human.

In fact, an old video of Miyazaki from 2016 has started to do rounds on social media, where upon being asked about the potential of computers to produce animations and images which would be close to to what they do at the studio, the animator said he was "utterly disgusted" by the display. 

He went on to say he would "never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all.” And that  "I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself”.

The reason I bring this saga up is because this is a narrative that has been replayed time and again along the course of history. Be it in art, technology, or the world at large. 

Resistance to the course of evolution. 

It is a thought process that has a catastrophic consequence for young people especially.

So while Miyazaki’s views are respected and completely understandable, you and I cannot afford to think like him. 

In fact, what I am going to talk about, is going to be one of the biggest challenges that young students and professionals will face over the next few years. 

Avoid it at all costs…

Evolution:

Evolution is constant. The universe is in a constant state of change. It is dynamic. Never static. We evolve, the world around us evolves, technology evolves and art evolves. 

The one thing that almost always coexists with evolution is resistance. All evolution, is faced with some form of resistance. From those that are not comfortable with it’s occurrence. 

This is because humans aren’t the best at dealing with change. We like predictability. It gives us security and peace of mind. 

So we tend to fight change. But open your history books to confirm this.

Change, always wins. Those who side with change, progress. And those who choose to continue to resist, are rendered obsolete. 

Miyazaki not being comfortable with AI making animations is understandable. But just because technology makes something easier, or more efficient, doesn’t mean it is a lesser art form.

There have been several instances where resistance to technology and change hasn’t ended well for the resistor. 

Here’s a few examples.

1. 25 years ago, the music industry was controlled by record labels. If you wanted to succeed as a musician, you had to record a demo, mail it in to the record label, and hope they give you a contract. Then came the mp3 format, aka digital music. A company called Napster revolutionised digital downloads by offering people a chance to download their favourite songs online instead of buying CDs and Vinyls. Record labels saw this as a threat to their existence and started filing lawsuit after lawsuit, to ensure that digital music and streaming don’t work out. In the meantime, companies like Apple and Spotify came in, and rode the wave instead of opposing it, revolutionising digital streaming and music, ultimately making record labels obsolete.

2.   When Bitcoin started to go mainstream, many conservative investors like Peter Schiff and Warren Buffett were critics. They said it was not real, was not backed by any assets, and hence wasn’t a good investment. Peter Schiff is a renowned economist and investor. Below is one of his tweets from 2018.

   

   Around the same time, Warren Buffett said if you gave him all the bitcoin in the world for $25, he wouldn’t take it. 

   At the time of writing, Bitcoin is at $84K, and it’s market cap is 1.7 Trillion USD, roughly 30x since those statements.

3)  A company called Blockbuster had over 9000 movie DVD renting stores in the US. Netflix approached it for a partnership, as they did mail-in orders at the time. They even proposed to sell the company to Blockbuster for $50 Million. Blockbuster laughed it off saying “DVD rentals will never be beaten”. Today, Netflix is a $250 Billion streaming company, and Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010. 

In all these examples, you see clearly that opposition or resistance to meaningful change and evolution have never worked. The resistors almost always lose. 

But how does it impact you?

As technology improves, the rate of change in the world at large will increase. With AI making massive strides everyday, there are clearly going to be thousands upon thousands of jobs, professions and skillsets, that will be made obsolete. 

Amidst all of this, most students and young professionals still continue to rely upon outdated University education and subjects. You continue to adhere to societal norms, and go to university so that you can get a job. And you think you will continue to do that job forever. 

You have to realise that the world is shifting so rapidly, that a course you take could be relevant today, but by the time you get your degree in 4 years, it could become irrelevant. 

A job you take today could be wiped off in two years. 

The only people who survive, are the ones who are useful in every situation. 

This means that there is no one skill, that will keep you relevant. Instead, it is the ability to pick up new skills whenever required that will keep you relevant. 

Case in point, AI today writes better code than the median software engineer. In a few years, a lot of those jobs will disappear. Which means if you are a software engineer, you need to have the ability to pivot quickly, learn how to code with AI to be more efficient, learn newer skills like ‘prompt engineering’, and maybe even be prepared to dump coding altogether if it becomes obsolete. 

If you choose to complain, or resist, or fight change, then you risk being on the wrong side of history. 

If you can become the person that can adapt quickly, pick up new skills at will, and contribute meaningfully regardless of the situation, then you essentially make yourself future proof. 

So instead of thinking about what degree you should get, or what’s the best skill to learn, learn how to pick up new skills on the fly. Learn how to make yourself useful in any situation. 

The way to do this, is by working on new projects that you find interesting. Working on new projects will mean you will be forced to do things you don’t know how to do yet. You will have to learn them, if you want to complete the project. 

When I started building my personal brand, I learnt about creating content, short form algorithms, distribution, psychology, editing techniques, typography, lighting, and much more. Just the one activity forced me to learn tens of new skills.

That’s how you get better at learning new stuff. You do it enough times. Build projects, learn cool stuff, evolve, adapt, pivot, execute, and learn again. 

You do this much, and no amount of change or evolution will be able to displace you. 

“You cannot stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

Until next time,

— Khyatt