What Machines Cannot Do For Me

Make music. There are digital tools that can play music and compose it, but there’s nothing like playing the piano or guitar with my own hands, or singing with my own voice. I make a lot of mistakes when I play the piano, and I’m not very good at sight-reading when singing. As I get older, my voice will change, and my hands will probably move more slowly and stiffly. But I’ll still be making music with my own body. There’s a lot of joy in that.

Make art. Machines can generate pictures, and I love using some of the tools I carry with me to make pictures. I take photos every day, and most days I sketch or make watercolor paintings. Let there be no doubt: digital cameras are great, and digital editing tools are remarkable. And AI-generated art can be really eye-catching! But the pencil I hold in my hand is like another eye that helps me to see more clearly. The sketchbook becomes a place of reflection, and even my worst sketches are still my own. With each one I attempt, I learn and grow and see more clearly. It’s hard to imagine improving on that.

Make love. I mean that in all the senses of “love.” I don’t want to outsource holding my wife’s hand or cuddling on the couch while we watch a movie. I don’t need a machine to make friends for me.

Some of the best things in life are things we cannot buy and cannot (and should not) replace with even our cleverest technologies.