A few days ago, I found myself in the back seat of a 1971 Land Rover as it sped along a winding lakeside road on the way up to a volcano.

As we continued our ascent, I could see the foliage and the trees on the side of the road get thicker and greener while the air turned fresh as the geography transitioned from dry tropical to lush humid rain forest.

The drive was long, and eventually, the light through the leaves of the jungle started to fade, providing less and less scenery as dusk turned to the dark of night.

After a short stretch of staring into darkness, I found myself reaching for my iPhone to review the latest notes and tasks that I had for my ongoing projects.

Much to my surprise, as I looked at my phone, I had 5 full bars of data service as we continued further up the road toward the volcano.

Being the ever-productive nerd that I am, within minutes, I was comparing and contrasting software design architectures and personal brand strategies across three different AI models as I compared and contrasted the nuances of each.

All while driving through the jungle in the back of a classic Land Rover.

I couldn’t help but feel immense gratitude that I had access to both nature and cutting-edge tech in the same moment, and for me, that felt pretty amazing.

In many ways, for me, it’s all that I could ask for.

Gratitude for Our Current Era

We’re now settled into our second destination in Costa Rica, away from the coast and higher up near the Arenal Volcano in La Fortuna.

There is a gorgeous view of the volcano and the surrounding lush countryside from the upper level of our building.

As I sit and write, I am again instilled with gratitude to be on this journey and experiencing so many new things while still being able to work and make progress on various goals.

And on a much nerdier level, I am filled with gratitude that the internet speed here is incredibly fast!

Even faster, in fact, than I had at my old place in Los Angeles, which is crazy to think about.

What a time to be alive! 😆

It keeps occurring to me how lucky I am to have access to all the benefits of technology and the connectivity that it brings today.

The opportunities of online business, connecting with people from various cultures through shared online creativity, and more recently, access to the vastly growing access to the knowledge and intelligence that can be beamed down from the sky into the phones in our pockets with AI, it’s truly remarkable to think about.

Especially for an ever-tech-curious and creative, passionate person like myself, and I’m sure most people reading this, it is a dynamic and exciting time to be building, creating, connecting, and in my current case, all while traveling.

With that, I keep finding myself coming back to the theme of balance as I continue on my current path. It’s something I’ve always tried and mostly failed to achieve, but I feel its importance continues to grow for those of us who are striving to achieve while also living a fulfilling life.

The other side of infinite connectivity brings temptation and potential imbalance, and it is something to be aware of with all that is available to us in this amazing modern era.

Share

A Double-Edged Sword and The Essential Skills of Our Time

It’s not lost on me that from a certain perspective, it is unfortunate to have strong internet access when traveling through the jungle, and I totally understand that. A clear separation of our origins and connection to nature and the growing power of modern interconnectivity and knowledge feels right, like it’s how it should be.

After all, there are many in the world who are unable to consciously separate from the temptation of turning on the sugar faucet of dopamine on our devices whenever available.

From bigger and better video games, personalized YouTube and social content in every niche imaginable, streaming video and entertainment coming from every screen, and the AI-tuned ad algorithms trained on our behaviors all screaming for our limited attention every waking moment of the day, there is a lot of responsibility in remaining virtually connected.

They are strong temptations, and the pull is growing greater and greater by the day.

But I much would rather have the choice and leave it to myself to improve my awareness and discipline to be able to consciously disconnect whenever I want to and need to.

I want the option to choose based on my aspirations and desires, and I am willing to take responsibility for my choices and actions and the consequences that come with them.

Those choices and consequences and the awareness to consciously choose how we delegate our attention, energy, and time will define how my experience and achievement in life are, and I am committed to staying vigilant in that effort.

In that, I think that we can see a shift in which type of skills are becoming more valuable in this fast-moving world of infinite connectivity and knowledge and intelligence on demand.

With so many options, choices, and potential, it will be the skills of discipline, agency, and vision that decide success and progress when everyone has access to everything.

Less and less will hard skills and learned industry knowledge carry the high value that they did in previous eras, and more and more will the ability to muster the vast resources of technology without distraction toward a clear goal become essentially important.

To Focus, Filter, and Finish has always been the way, but will become even more important as the power and options of technology and Artificial Intelligence continue to spread through markets and society.

When everyone has the potential, it will be those who believe and follow through that make progress and effect change in our world.

Looking Ahead

These are the thoughts I’m reflecting on as I feel gratitude for both my current scenic view and current access to knowledge, friends, and collaborators, all in the middle of the jungle next to a volcano.

For me, it is a very exciting time, but I know that I need to continue to improve my skills of discipline and agency to make the most of the budding potential in the upcoming era.

It is good for all of us to remain aware and vigilant of who and what are taking the limited resources of our time and energy as the digital world becomes more connected and knowledgeable.

And it is also good to remember our origins with all the beautiful and rejuvenating nature around us, and maintain the will to be able to unplug digitally and reconnect organically.

If we stay aware and in control of both, then all sorts of amazing options will continue to reveal themselves to us.

Michael

‘Be bold and powerful forces will come to your aid.’

That’s a quote in one of my favorite movies, Almost Famous, that has always resonated with me whenever I heard it.

It’s delivered in a slightly overbearing tone by the mother figure in the film, played by Frances McDormand, incorrectly citing Goethe (it’s Basil King), but it carries a powerful underlying concept.

Its general intent implies that to the bold comes fortune, ordained by the grace of some higher power of deity or nature that comes to lift up those who have the courage to step out of the normal and expected to dare to aspire to something greater.

That notion in itself is powerful and motivating enough to inspire.

But the more I think about that quote, and the more I struggle to achieve, the more I believe that a large portion of that uplifting energy exists within us, waiting to be unlocked.

My Journey: From Seeking Safety to Burnout

I’m now in the fourth week of my digital nomad journey, which has started here in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

Next week I’ll be heading to a new city here, La Fortuna, to spend a week in the rainforest living under a volcano and continuing my balance of productivity and new experiences.

Before embarking on this new chapter, my routine was much more predictable.

It was living alone in the suburbs, working 14-hour days, nights, and weekends, working hard to keep up with client income work while desperately trying to fit in my entrepreneurial and creative aspirations in the edge hours in between.

I was lucky to live in a nice place where I had room to work and create, and I justified it since progress was my main goal, but the extra cost of comfort made me so desperate to maintain income work that it locked me in a cycle of giving up all my energy and time to others for sustainability that it left little of me for progress on the things that I cared most about.

And in my daily and weekly routines, I saw the same four walls and the same houses lining the block I would walk a couple of times a day to keep my sanity.

Tapping my strength of discipline and toughness, I would sacrifice social outings and replenishing new experiences to fill what little time I had with productivity, in hopes of somehow breaking through.

I’m no stranger to workaholism, but the net product wasn’t adding up.

I didn’t see it at the time, but I was giving everything I had to maintain security in fear of failure, that I was stuck, furiously spinning in one place.

Slowly then quickly, the grind and feeling of giving so much to move so little, started to wear on me.

All the while I was in my downward spiral of seeking security, I knew deep down that a change was coming and needed to happen.

I knew that I had to get out of the weight of my overly expensive living situation.

I knew that I had to stop devoting the vast majority of my waking hours to working for other people just to sustain.

Against my nature, as I could hear a mighty force calling me toward uncertainty, and having spent every ounce of life energy that I had, I knew that a leap into the unknown was the only way out.

Share

The Fortunate Era of Uncertainty

When I finally hit the tipping point and started moving toward the action of change, I started to feel faint tinges of relief and hope that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

A renewed excitement of the future and its possibilities was re-aligning my resources of mind and soul toward the promise of something new.

I didn’t know what my next step would be and what the future would bring, but I knew that I would figure it out. That I would adapt.

Any doubt that I had was almost immediately washed away.

Taking action and uncertainty had activated another side of me, engaging the fuller spectrum of my ability to move forward with excitement and vigor.

Even in the face of uncertainty of income and not having a permanent place to live, it felt like it was the naturally right direction.

Since moving and embarking on this transition, there has been a mighty force of momentum at my back, affirming decisions and engaging to ensure movement toward the path ahead.

Deep down I knew that this was the path that I had to take. I probably knew it for years.

But the fear of uncertainty kept me locked in an exhausting cycle of seeking security and exhausting all my life energy to spin in one place, somehow thinking that I was actually progressing.

As I slowly become more accustomed to the more present companion of uncertainty, I realize that there is no better time to become familiar with its presence.

We live in an age of disruption, change, and opportunity, and the breadth of it is just beginning.

The era of predictable routine and easily foreseeable futures is coming to an end.

Technology is changing the world around us, creating a rare moment of immense opportunity while shaking the foundation of safety in a path of seeking security.

For those willing to accept uncertainty and tap into the mighty forces of their instinct and adaptability, there is arguably no better time in history to be taking a chance and shooting your shot.

Following curiosity, embracing creativity, and taking the risk to create and invest in the future that you want to embrace is more possible now than ever before.

Online business, working from anywhere in the world, AI enabling small teams to do big things, the opportunities in uncertainty are as big now as they ever have been.

It’s much better to face that discomfort with the unknown now than to continue to seek security in the structures and routines that could no longer even exist in a few years.

With the disruption of technology and AI, change will come, that much we know, but we don’t know exactly how it will play out.

Much better to be investing in adaptability, embracing risk, and moving dynamically into the future than to wait for the uncertainty to find you anyway.

Uncertainty: The Essence of Creativity & Innovation

Taking a broader look at the importance of getting comfortable with uncertainty, we can see its presence clearly in the process of creativity.

The blank page, the first musical note, the first brush stroke – we never quite know where they will lead, but without the courage to move forward and find out, nothing new and beautiful would ever be created.

This principle resonates within us and echoes in the actions of visionaries. If Steve Jobs had clung to the certainty of past successes, the revolutionary iPhone might never have been born.

Similarly, consider Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. In a move that shocked audiences, he boldly went electric—a controversial risk that, despite initial resistance, redefined the boundaries of popular music and expanded its creative horizon.

The daring nature of innovators and artists has brought about some of the biggest leaps in society’s progress throughout all of history.

Yet, we are resistant to uncertainty and seek the stability of the predictable.

The vast majority of us struggle with it, I know that I do greatly, but I believe that it is something that can be worked on and improved. We just need to commit and have the courage to step a little further out of our comfort zone and step by step, the unknown will become a bit less scary.

Embracing Uncertainty for Growth, New Experiences & Agency

Some people seem more naturally at peace with living with uncertainty. In many ways I envy them. So much of what I’ve often aspired to in creativity, adventure, relationships, entrepreneurship and so much more all lies waiting on the other side of uncertainty.

Becoming comfortable with the unknown unlocks so much possibility in life, creativity and business.

There are many people who are fine with seeking security and finding the comfort of predictable routine, but for the creators, the visionaries and all the other crazy ones like us who are always seeking to explore and expand, the relationship with uncertainty is essential.

In such a short time, I am already reaping the rewards of embracing uncertainty in my path as a digital nomad. The amount of new experiences and lifelong memories that I’ve had in the last few weeks is way beyond worth the initial discomfort of the unknown.

It’s easier to see that on the other side. And a part of me always knew it would be that way, but I wrestled with my secure side and it took me longer than it should have, but I did it, and I’ve learned from it and next time it will be easier.

I still have a lot of uncertainty. I’m focusing more on building a business around Niche Creator and as such don’t have as much money coming in. But I feel invigorated by the opportunity to build something new with AI and in the process help multipotentialite creators in their path. That feels a lot more inspiring than devoting all my energy to affording a decent place to live in Los Angeles for a month.

I still don’t know where I’m going to live by the end of the year, whether it will be in an affordable studio an hour or two outside of LA to keep connection to that changing energy of that city, or if it’s somewhere else in the US that is less predatory and more affordable, or if it’s on another side of the globe in another new country.

I know where I’m going next though and that what I’m working on excites me.

I know that I feel mighty forces within me activated and aligning on this path and that feels right.

In that, uncertainty feels certain.

Michael

When I spend time out in nature, I feel rejuvenated. Deep inside me, I feel an ancestral connection with something greater. A harmony that aligns and lifts me toward balance with each immersive step.

Yet in my everyday life, I’m enthralled with the quickly growing power of AI integrating its logic and decision-making skills into nearly every aspect of my routine.

The juxtaposition gives me pause to reflect: As we fall deeper into our reliance on technology, are we risking the loss of our natural, time-tested intuition, or can we unite our primal wisdom with AI’s power to reach new heights of human potential?

Understanding Our Primal Intuition

Throughout time, humans evolved survival instincts to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing world in which they lived.

The ability to sense danger or to predict shifting opportunity in food and shelter would often mean the difference in the survival of entire groups of people.

Insightful and effective leaders had to weigh hundreds of abstract signs and inputs to make important decisions that would guide the fortune of their tribe.

In the animal kingdom, we can see examples of raw intuition that seem to be almost completely devoid of involvement with the conscious mind: migratory birds using Earth’s magnetic field to travel thousands of miles to find milder winters and plentiful food supplies. Salmon returning to their ancestral spawning grounds using little more than their senses and environmental cues for their internal compass.

These types of behavior aren’t conscious; they are felt subconscious guides and have been essential to the survival of species throughout the existence of time.

As humans, we still see remnants of these instincts today in what we might call “gut feelings”. In bigger decisions, we often seek to “follow our gut” and have a greater need to FEEL like we are making the right choice, even after weighing all data possible to inform a given choice.

From career choices and romantic decisions to moving to a new city, the decisions often rely significantly on the direction of our subconscious primal compass.

These instincts offer a nuanced interpretation of complex emotions or social cues that logical analysis alone (something that AI is incredibly adept at) cannot fully replace or replicate.

In my decision to move out of LA to embark on the transition to be a digital nomad, I constantly consulted AI to analyze and weigh the various pros and cons of making such a big change. Every aspect of the choice was prompted and explored, rehashing every detail to try and come closer to certainty and clarity.

But in the end, it was my gut that finally made the clear decision.

It finally began to speak so loudly that the choice became obvious.

And ever since making that choice, I’ve felt a tailwind of momentum and renewal of energy to propel me toward the next era of opportunity.

The Rise of AI: Leveraging Tech Without Losing Ourselves

The proliferation of artificial intelligence marks the beginning of a radical new era of advancement in the evolution of our species and society.

By harnessing it responsibly, we could usher in a new era of prosperity and advancement for the human race.

Even at this early stage, AI excels at large-scale data analysis and computational logic that can unlock patterns and reveal solutions in medicine and science that promise to yield great benefit in our lives.

Leveraging the power of AI, we can dare to hope to cure disease, optimize agriculture for a sustainable future, and tailor education to unlock every individual’s potential.

But in this rapid shift toward the increased use and reliance on AI, we also risk losing some of our most powerful human skills.

As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives and more and more accessible to reference for every decision and suggestion, our natural inclination to avoid difficulty could lead to over-reliance on its power of logical thinking.

Problem solving and critical thinking have been the cornerstone of our advancement as a species. These skills are why we are at the top of the food chain.

If our over-reliance on technology grows, we could soon offload every decision, large and small, to a (seemingly) all-knowing, sentient, and ever-present demi-god of a companion, and in doing so, quickly dull our greatest skill that we’ve developed over eons to arrive at where we are today.

In deferring all of our decisions, we could lose the essential insight of our natural instincts.

Share

Maintaining Balance While Embracing AI

So how do we maintain the vision of our natural instincts while harnessing the growing power of AI?

The key is balance and awareness.

More and more, we are becoming connected and engaged with our screens and devices. With endless choices of video entertainment, social connections around the world, alerts, notifications, and now intelligent companions all requesting our attention from the proximity of our pocket, it’s extremely easy to get overwhelmed.

With great power comes great responsibility, and the greatest responsibility of our day is discipline.

The ability to harness the power of technology by separating the signal from the noise is an essential skill for cultivating productivity and avoiding the mind-dulling trap of overconsumption.

To protect and maintain our control over all these temptations demanding our attention, it’s important that we are able to separate and recharge.

It’s important that we have the awareness and discipline to do so.

One of the best ways to separate and renew our connection with our inherent natural instincts and abilities is to be present within nature itself.

For me, that means going on a hike.

Setting my phone on Do Not Disturb and heading out into the woods or hills to be surrounded by the natural sights, sounds, and smells from which the eons of intelligence within me evolved.

For me, these times are when I can hear my intuition the best.

Renewing myself with nature reconnects me to that power of instinct that serves as a compass and creative wellspring to guide me on my path.

So many times that I’ve had a creative breakthrough or was able to finally find clarity on a big decision have been on a walk in nature. I just think more cleanly and clearly there. I’m more in tune with my place in this world.

Being able to maintain that balance and connection with my deeper self, I can then take that clarity back into my goals and aspirations, fully leveraging the logical skills of AI to accelerate advancement.

An Enhanced Human Future

The ability to find and maintain this balance is powerful and essential. It will be more so as time and technology evolve.

If we can keep the connection to our time-tested natural instincts and use that powerful intuition to leverage and guide AI, then the future will truly show a lot of promise.

But it will require discipline; it will require balance.

We can find balance by reconnecting with our natural origins. As I walk through a Costa Rican forest, I’m reminded that hiking is a great way to do this, but using our hands by playing an instrument or crafting something can also bring us into our center as connected beings of mind, body, and soul.

The important thing is that we find our own way to disconnect, re-center and renew.

While it’s important to learn about the growing power of AI and how to leverage it for advancement, it’s equally important to find your connection to balance and natural origins.

The combination of the two promises to create an incredible future.

Michael

They say if you want what no one else has, then you need to be willing to do things that nobody else will.

That concept has always inspired me to sacrifice and work hard to achieve my goals.

But it has gotten much harder recently to adhere to my normal workaholic ways as I’m now tempted by the allure of paradise outside my window every day of the week.

It’s been a week and a half since I’ve embarked on my digital nomad journey in Costa Rica, and there has been no lack of amazing new sights and experiences.

So many, in fact, that it has me asking the question:

How can you chase big dreams of entrepreneurship and creativity when living in a paradise that constantly beckons you to explore?

The Allure and the Dilemma: Week One in Costa Rica

Tamarindo, where I’m staying, is a vibrant and beautiful beach town on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. It’s a bit touristy, and because of that, there is energy and people out and about enjoying themselves every day of the week.

It is also peak season here, the dry season, when it never rains and every day is warm and sunny.

Contrast that with the depressingly dark and bitter cold February’s where I’m originally from in Michigan, and the temptation to be outside in the sun runs extremely high. Even my adopted home of Los Angeles is a bit less appealing weather-wise this time of year with chilly temps and high winds.

It seems like a waste not to be outside enjoying paradise.

Taking advantage, in my first week, I’ve:

• Watched the gorgeous sunsets every day

• Walked barefoot up and down the pristine beaches in the area

• Went beach hopping with a rented scooter up and down the coast

• Had multiple lunches and dinners at tables on the beach with my feet in the sand

• Listened to amazing live music, watched fire performers, and enjoyed some of the most interesting people-watching I’ve done in years.

It’s definitely been a week full of enjoyment and experience, with much more to take in.

But I also have big goals for entrepreneurship, creativity, and client work, and I’m excited to work on them.

In fact, I consider myself lucky that I love the tech and creative work that I do, and I’m super eager to move forward and make progress to see where it can lead.

It is a very unique and exciting time with AI and online business. I want to catch the wave and be a part of the massive opportunity waiting out there.

In the previous 6 months before starting my nomad journey, all I did was work. Seven days a week, 12-14 hour days, minimal friend hangs, or anything else, just push, push, push, work. That is my default and what I knew best when it comes time to get it done and focus on survival and progress. I’m really good at it.

But it burned me out immensely, and at this point in my life, I can see enough that I might regret it. Especially when a lot of that work and life energy is going to other people, their businesses, relationships, and their dreams.

So, how can we have it all?

The Case for Balanced Progress as the Best Way to Achieve

Being a self-professed workaholic and spending the majority of my professional life in the Silicon Beach hustle culture of LA, I learned well that to achieve, you need to sacrifice time and experiences to succeed.

I’ve lived the entirety of my professional life by that approach with almost two decades of experience in West Coast tech. But in this new era, I’m eager to find a better balance.

Great work ethic and the ability to push is an extremely valuable tool, and I’m glad to have it when I need it, but there has to be a better approach, especially for the long haul.

I still want to be able to succeed and achieve at a high level, but I want that success to be spread across all of my life’s interests, including new experiences and relationships. I want to start treating my creativity and expression like clients and giving them proper obligation and accountability, but all without overworking and over-stressing.

Up to this point, my only method and approach to fitting it all in has been to throw as many hours at a project as I could in my waking hours, and normally underestimate the effort, which would then make me feel like I was failing and cause further discouragement, leading to abandonment or long pauses for projects that I truly had passion for. Throw in aggressive client deadlines, and everything would fall off my plate, forget any chance at travel, relationships, creativity, and any new experience away from a computer.

I’m realizing now that part of my issue was how I approach my all-or-nothing schedule.

If there was a lot of work to be done, I would just try and work as much as possible on priority tasks and fill up my whole schedule with that effort.

Outside influence, like client and employer deadlines, would set the bulk of my schedule, and I would respond well to those obligations and do all that was needed to get it done, often in the past, even including working through the night, not to mention weekends and holidays.

I was always bad at setting those milestones and schedules for myself, though.

In my new era, I’m aiming to change that, and I’m looking to prioritize my projects at the same level of commitment as I do for clients and employers. And with that, I’m making the discovery that new experiences and new relationships are a personal project.

Share

Here’s how I plan to do it.

Key Strategies for Balance

1. Setting Realistic Goals Instead of just having a list of different projects that I want to work on and switching to work on them open-endedly when I have the time, I plan to focus on defining clear, achievable milestones for each of my projects. Ex. Finish integrating a new UI feature for Niche Creator this week, or shoot and edit a new YouTube vlog by Wednesday, schedule 5 LinkedIn posts for the week, or finish the first verse for a new song. It seems obvious, but so often in the past I would just work on a project when I found the time and not set my goals for the session, only to find that after hours of “working” I hadn’t really gotten much done. Parkinson’s Law at work.

2. Intentional Time Boxing Instead of waiting to work on a project until priority projects allow my schedule to open up (it never happens), I will intentionally schedule my time for each project that I want to make progress on. The challenge here is protecting those time boxes and honoring the commitment to keeping the schedule and switching to the next project when a time box is finished. Being strict about your end times can be a powerful motivator for achieving your set goals before ending. It’s the Perfectionist Procrastinator’s hidden power (that’s me! ✋), if you can hold yourself accountable to this you’ll get a ton done. Therein lies the challenge, but work on it and practice. Parkinson’s Law defeated!

3. Fracturing Time for Experiences As a special consideration for my commitment to the first two points, I plan to include treating exploration and new experiences as its own project and, as such, will honor the time blocked off and scheduled for it. It’s so easy to dismiss what we consider “leisure” or relaxation time as a luxury not needed on the path to success. An indulgence left only for the lazy. But the space to expand and experience leads to new thoughts and ideas, and paves the way for innovation and creativity. I’ve made this mistake often in my life and overworked to burnout only to find myself a tapped-out husk of my full potential. No more.

4. Building a Rewarding Routine It’s easy to plan and list out intentions, but the glue that connects and supports any plan is iteration and execution. I know that sticking to my intentions and hitting my goals of balanced progress will be challenging, but that is why it is important to find a routine and work on it so that I can find the best and most successful version of it. One might say that routine suffocates freedom and spontaneity, but it is in fact the key to enabling expansion. Especially in today’s world of constant connection and distraction, if you don’t take control of your time, then someone else will.

The Road Ahead: Sustaining Progress and Inspiring Growth with Balance

They say if you have what no one else has, then you need to be willing to do things that nobody else will.

I’m reframing my interpretation of that concept from that of sacrifice and submission to endless work to that of choosing to have the courage to live differently and find balanced success through intention and inspiration.

I’m looking to prioritize new experiences as motivation and inspiration so that I can be both productive and fulfilled in the various aspirations that I have in this life.

In the past, I’ve often thought of what a curse it is to be passionate about so many things, what a tragedy it is that we have to choose success over creativity and the fulfillment of varied life experiences.

Now I’m starting to think that the most productive and best way forward is the well-rounded approach.

I know the cost of burnout, and it doesn’t yield much in the end.

A motivated and inspired entrepreneur and creative is much more effective than a charred and suffocated one left spent in the ashes of burnout.

So, I’m heading into my second week as a digital nomad in Costa Rica with a schedule and a plan.

That plan includes progress and productivity, but also daily sunsets walking on the beach and hiking with sloths and monkeys.

I feel excited about the things I’m working on and the new experiences I’m gaining, and it’s my main goal to keep motivated and inspired with a more balanced approach.

Michael

Watch the Vlog Video

Watch the vlog ☝️

I’m currently sitting out on the balcony of my Airbnb in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. The first international stop and official start to my digital nomad journey.

It’s been a whirlwind of experiences already in traveling to get here to Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

I’ve only been in the country for thirty-six hours chronologically, but somehow it feels like weeks.

The feeling has me reflecting on the power of new experiences and how they affect our relationship with time.

It feels like time can literally be slowed down and filled with more life in less time.

A powerful ability that I want to be able to channel and recall on demand.

Arrival in Costa Rica

The flight to Costa Rica wasn’t too much different than any of the many other flights I’ve been on. And other than some mild acrobatics landing in some gusty winds and alternative cabin instructions in Spanish, it’s not much to write about.

The airport in Liberia, Costa Rica, is medium to small and pretty nice. It was an American Airlines flight, so all was pretty familiar.

The anticipation of the upcoming experiences and unknown had my attention and awareness piqued, however, so I could tell I was taking in more.

I was more present. Time was starting to get just a little slower.

The customs line was long, and while queuing up and looking up Spanish words on my phone that I thought I might need ahead of talking to the customs agent, I glanced around and noticed just how similar everyone looked.

They all looked and sounded like me. Caucasian and English-speaking. Many of them looking and sounding way more gringo than myself, having blonde hair and speaking with MidWest drawls and talking of Minnesota football.

I was a little disappointed at first, but then again, I already knew that it was the case, and was reminded that Costa Rica is a big vacation destination for North Americans. And it is peak season here after all, when there is little rain and it’s warm and sunny all the time.

It also works out well for my international nomad-ing experience to ease in a bit.

After connecting with my friend from their incoming LA flight, we were picked up by another mutual friend who splits time working remotely both in Los Angeles and Costa Rica.

It’s another advantage for acclimating to a new culture and language having a native speaker to hang out with and show you around, so we were grateful to have our guide.

Even better that our guide pulled up in a 1970s vintage Land Rover, the kind that you would see in an Indiana Jones movie.

The new experiences were starting to pick up.

Immersion Begins

We hopped in our epic ride and headed out into the wilds of Costa Rica, the adventure officially beginning.

Tamarindo is a few hours away from Liberia (where the airport is), and we needed to pick up our guide’s friend to round out the group for the trip towards the coast, so we headed deeper into the city.

Even though Costa Rica has a lot of tourists and expats, they tend to keep to certain areas, and Liberia is markedly more on the local side regarding its residents.

The city was very vibrant, with people outside hanging in the parks and outside storefronts relaxing and socializing on a Saturday evening.

Some parts of the city were definitely nicer than others. Similar to some big cities in the US and many cities in Latin America, the transition can be quite quick.

Costa Rica is a big travel and expat destination, but there is noticeable poverty in different parts of the country, and often with that comes some risk, especially for foreigners. This is where having a guide was again very valuable, and he was able to instruct me when to pull my gringo head back into the already attention-grabbing safari car so as not to grab too much attention of the bad kind.

Traffic, it seems, exists in all countries, so after picking up our fourth, we decided to let it die down a bit and grab dinner in the city before heading toward Tamarindo on the coast.

I’m definitely glad we did, as the restaurant had a beautiful outdoor patio, great Costa Rican food, and was pretty much a locals-only spot, so I was able to get a more pure experience of the local culture.

Our newly added fourth in the group, as well as the servers, barely spoke any English, so the culture experience started to heighten as well. I’ve long wanted to learn another language, and I’ve been practicing Spanish casually on the side for years, but Duolingo has nothing on sink or swim immersion, so this was the first test.

It went well, and luckily our guide is fluent in both English and Spanish, so it made for a very effective learning experience to try out my modest language skills and then have someone to bail me out when I inevitably failed, haha. Especially with our fourth member not speaking English, it was a great new experience to try and connect without the full arsenal of native language. It’s surprising how much you can communicate if you have the courage to try.

Share

The Journey to Tamarindo

After dinner, we made the trek to the coast, winding through the grassy plains region of the country, passing local towns and their Saturday night street parties along the way. Some of the parties were absolutely bumping, with live music, BBQ, and people pouring into the street dancing in some parts. I was tempted to ask to stop, but ended up deciding that this gringo needs a little more Spanish practice before that level of immersion.

The roads in between cities don’t have many lights, so it’s pretty dark with not much in between, but I could occasionally see parts of the open landscape as we drove on the winding roads.

Costa Rica is tropical, but it’s not quite the jungle that I was expecting. There are different regions, and the Western side is more open plains with the occasional bunches of trees instead of dense forest. It’s also the dry season, so it becomes much more lush when it’s raining every day in other parts of the year.

As we got closer to our destination, I could start to see lights pop up on the horizon like fireflies flickering one by one at dusk.

They continued to spread as we approached until we started to see signs of a small beach city popping up around us.

Restaurants and shops started to line the street as we headed down the main road along the beach toward our Airbnb.

In the transition, it quickly went from Costa Rican countryside with street parties to a tourist beach town as we saw droves of non-locals crowding the streets, many of them dressed nicely and heading out for fun on a Saturday night.

We made it to our Airbnb on the other side of the town and quickly dropped off our things and changed to head back out and catch some of the weekend energy building outside.

By the time we got back to the main streets near the beach, the streets were packed and filled with people. Music was emanating from every building facade, and the smell of street food permeated the air.

The energy was contagious and captivating. It had the excitement of some kind of international adult spring break. People of all races and origins were represented as they ducked in and out of restaurants and clubs, as I realized that the city was much more of a tourist destination than a chill nomad stop that I had originally anticipated.

We hopped from outdoor patio to bar, to club, taking it all in.

For a moment, it had that luring level of appeal that you get in Las Vegas, or holiday vacation how spring break used to feel, where you just want to live your whole life in that present excitement, and the drudgery of work and everyday routine life seems so pale and vapid in comparison, why would you ever live it again? You can just spend every last penny chasing this ultimate high and never looking back, tossing caution and responsibility into the oblivion in which it belongs…

I worried myself for a moment. That’s not why I came here… But eventually I snapped myself out of it, bringing my consciousness safely back to the present to enjoy the experience as it was in the moment.

Eventually, much later than I originally intended, we retired back to our condo and crashed out shortly after calming the buzz and excitement of our temporary new home.

Travel Slowing Down Time

The next day, Sunday, we headed out again toward the ocean to see the city during the day and have lunch on the beach before saying goodbye to our friends as they headed back to Liberia to their work and weekly routines.

After the beach, we ventured out to tackle some of the necessary everyday tasks like grocery shopping and scouting for various remote work spots.

In that, what would normally be a normal, boring task was again infused with the adventure of new experiences in seeing new foods and deciphering product labels while trying to get help from employees in my humbly mediocre ability to speak in my new local language.

It might be the kind of thing that causes stress and anxiety to some, but the experience of every little new moment brings me something new. A simple interaction, yet rich with new experiences. Something to be remembered.

As we were going about our evening of shopping and acclimation, my travel friend and I kept commenting that we weren’t sure what day it was.

We had just gotten here, right, or had we? Was it yesterday that we flew in? It couldn’t have been, so much has happened since then, it must have been last week.

We kept marveling at how much had happened since we arrived. It felt like forever since getting off that plane.

After checking my calendar and confirming that it was indeed only a day before that we had arrived, I was convinced that there must be some kind of time dilation or vortex here in Tamarindo, Costa Rica that causes time to pass more slowly.

Maybe not so much in a scientific sense, but definitely in my perception.

Ending the evening by taking in one of the more known local experiences, a Tamarindo sunset, I was convinced there was at least some kind of supernatural force at play.

Our Relation with Time and New Experiences

The topic definitely warrants an entry of its own, but I’m rekindled with fascination about our relationship with time and memory and the belief that new experiences are such a big part of how we perceive it.

When we are young, time seems to span eternity. Summer and holiday breaks mark whole eras in our existence with each occurrence jam-packed with memories and experiences.

Novels could be written (and have been) about the adventures of a single summer with memories that remain clear as day for the entirety of our lives.

The experiences of our young lives imprint deeply upon us and re-shape our perspectives and views.

What is that makes those youthful spans of time seem so long and feel so rich?

I know that there is a scientific explanation about the phenomenon. And it’s fairly easy to understand that time in which youthful experiences make up a greater presentation of our lived experience and memory at that time.

But I think that a key element of it transcends age: The concept of new experiences.

They engage us fully and bring our consciousness into the present to take in and analyze the new. To devote our full energy into the reception of something that we have never before seen, done, or felt.

Experience is a fuel for mind and the soul, allowing them to expand and grow.

Routine and familiarity serve their purpose and, in an evolutionary sense, serving to save energy and avoid uncertainty, but they certainly make time feel like it’s racing by at an alarming rate.

The decades of adulthood spent in work and sustaining the requirements of existence are often sparse with time expanding memories, seeming like barely any time has gone by with little of the new to recall.

New experiences lock us into the moment, fully captured and away, and make that moment seem like an eternity.

Some of this is inevitable, I suppose, but I believe that we can control at least some of it.

Travel is one great way. Meeting new people and sharing even similar experiences through a new lens imprints on us as something rich and new.

Creativity is another way. Internal travel, if you will, to expand and see new perspectives within oneself. To grow and see new perspectives within that will in turn enrich and expand the world that we see on the outside.

Settling into my local routine

It’s something I hope to capture with my time nomading, to steal away new experiences in my weekly routines while still making progress in personal and professional goals.

Even being slightly aware of the phenomenon of time and new experiences and the possibilities of even slightly controlling it, it is definitely easy to fall into routines. And routines after all, do make us the most productive when we are striving to achieve things never before accomplished in our businesses and creative endeavors.

But I think maybe new experiences can be part of our routines. And they can, and should, be prioritized, as part of something I’ve often struggled to find and achieve: balance.

And balance being a part of a greater goal or a life well lived. A life rich in experiences and without regrets.

That is something that I aspire to and hope to get better at recognizing and pursuing as I kick off a new era of experiences in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

Michael

Remote Workspaces

I thought it would be cool to share some of the remote workspaces that I’m working from, for both creative and tech, as I visit different places. I forgot to share my Florida workspace last week before I left so here it is below.

Port Charlotte, Florida

A simple, effective setup with a great view 😎

After many years of dreaming and entertaining the notion of exploring the world while working from my laptop, I’ve finally taken the leap to be a digital nomad.

In December I moved out of my house of 8 years in LA, packed all my stuff into storage unit and packed the minimum viable versions of my tech, creative and life necessities into a few bags and jumped on a plane into a new era.

Since 2019, when I extended a two week vacation in Europe into another couple weeks of remote working in Stockholm, Sweden, I have been wanting to do it again, but for a longer stretch.

The same as anyone who would be drawn to the curiosity and adventure of a big life change, there were plenty of things that kept me from taking the plunge.

The demand of work, the effort of planning, the hesitation and fear of the unknown. Missing friends and the comfort of a routine…

But recently it has felt like there were extra forces amassing and aligning to finally push me towards action and a new era in life.

Energies Aligning for Action: A Rapidly Changing World

The cost of living in Los Angeles feels like it has gotten even tougher over the last few years. I know everyone is feeling it across the world, but the big cities have been biting down extra hard lately, and my gut tells me it’s not going to ease.

The sentiment and balance between the economic classes, the owners and the renters, the bosses and the workers, the legislators and the citizens, it feels like it has gotten even more predatory and adversarial.

I’ve worked harder and more often than I have my entire life for the last three years and I somehow still feel that I’m barely keeping up.

The real multiplier here has been the cost of the time and the energy lost to these endeavors of big city survival and how little has been left for the things that I want most: to create, to travel, to experience and to connect with like minded people.

I love LA, it made me who I am today and has taught me an immeasurable amount about creativity, culture and success. The friendships and connections that I’ve made there are are what I love most. But I wonder how long my artist friends will stay if it continues to decline…

I still hope to be able to return in some capacity, maybe to live there for part of the year to connect and experience and then somewhere else where I can better afford to focus on my personal work for the rest. Or maybe just accepting that the cost of experience and connection in the big city will only afford a studio apartment or several roommates on the outskirts of the city in order to afford to pursue the things that I want.

None of these challenges are anything new, and again, we’re all feeling the money pinch lately, but there are other factors making the energy shift feel more monumental and permanent.

We undeniably live in the most dynamic time in the history of humanity. The rate of change that is happening continues to grow at an incredible rate. With technology entering the AI and quantum computer era, that change will come faster and faster.

Coming from someone who works in and loves tech, this is both exciting and scary.

Not scary, like Skynet and Robocop scary (at least not yet), but maybe a little Elysium and 1984 scary. There is still a lot we can do to prevent that sort of sci-fi future, but more-so scary in the speed of transition and how society, economy and government react to such change.

I would venture to state that those institutions are not well positioned for it.

An Era of Opportunity

Scary part aside, I actually am way more excited about the future than worried.

Never before has there been such a breadth of opportunity to create life and make your own way as there is today. With the continuing proliferation of business and connection on the internet offering opportunities in every niche, anything is possible for those ambitious and brave enough to pursue it.

And even after being a remote working freelancer for coming up on a decade, I still stop occasionally to realize just what an amazing opportunity it is to be able to do good work and make money any where in the world (how could you not want to take advantage of that opportunity?).

With AI continually improving, new markets, businesses and capabilities are created every day. The possibility for working for yourself, creating a billion dollar business and connecting with collaborators and customers across the world is all available for us to pursue.

It’s exciting. But also scary.

The future is coming and coming fast. The transition is here, it is starting slowly, but it will move faster and faster until it is everywhere all at once. Jobs of today won’t look the same in 2 to 3 years, let alone 5, and as someone whose primary income is a programmer of code, I have to come to terms with the reality of that notion as much as anyone.

The way I see it, we are at a crossroads.

Either grasp the plentiful opportunity emerging around us by working hard, staying alert and adapting to create the future life of your dreams…

Or stay complacent and comfortable until someone else decides your fate for you.

I’ve decided to choose the former.

It’s exciting and scary.

But I feel exhilarated. I feel that my fate is in my own hands.

Share

Intentions for My Travels

That gets me back to why I finally decided to become a nomad.

In starting on my path toward a new era, I immediately feel the relief of the cost burden of big city living. With the burden of high monthly rent lifted, I already feel like I have more choices and the ability to take more risks.

I’m a self professed workaholic and have no qualms about putting the effort and time in, but I would like more of that to go to myself.

I want the choice to give more energy to online businesses and apps, and to creativity and the social and spiritual currency that provides.

As I set out, I’m hoping I can transition into a more balanced distribution of energy and feel empowered by the freedom to do so without quickly seeing my monetary reserves depleted by high monthly costs.

My intention is to work more on Niche Creator, the app and business I’m building with , capture creative ideas through content and music from the inspiration of my travels and keep up with client work all while seeing more of the world and enjoying life a bit along the way.

I know that’s alot, and I notoriously take on more than I can actually do, but I have passions for these pursuits, in fact I need them, and will adjust balance as needed to find a way to make it work.

Even with these ambitions keeping me busy, I’m excited that I will get to see more of the world and it’s cultures in daily life as I travel.

One thing I do know is that the pursuit and action will bring me knowledge and insight along the way, and I feel good about that.

And for maybe the first time in my life I don’t know what I’ll be doing in six months. I’m trusting that action and experience will show me the way, and that feels pretty exciting.

Travel Plans

I’m currently in Florida (near Fort Meyers) for the first stop of my journey visiting my parents.

Being here is proving to be a good transition into a more nomadic life.

It’s a familiar place, with familiar people (obviously), and the meals are great.

I’ve done plenty of short remote work trips of a week or so before, but this stop is helping me tune in my long term setup for tech and creative work with the things that I’ve brought with me for the longer haul.

Next week I’ll be setting out on the actual trip and arriving in Costa Rica where I’ll be meeting my friend for another month stay.

We are flying into Libera and then driving over to stay in Tamarindo for our time there.

It’s a nice little beach town that comes highly recommended and isn’t far from the nature and adventure that Costa Rica has to offer.

After a month there, I’m planning to head to Medellín Colombia for another month. Colombia has been high on my list of places to see because of the beautiful nature and weather. Medellín is known as the “City of Eternal Spring”, which sounds pretty nice to me.

Whereas Costa Rica seems to have quite a few expats and connection to Western culture, Colombia feels like it will be more of a foreign country to me, so hopefully I will be brushed up on my Spanish and travel skills by the time I get there.

From there it will be on to Buenos Aires and Patagonia. Those are the two destinations that have been calling me most, so I’m really looking forward to that stretch. I’m still deciding on which will come first, likely decided by weather in Patagonia, but I will be in full nomad form by then (hopefully) and able to take in all that they have to offer.

We’ll see how well I’m holding up on the road after that and where the winds take me next.

Goals for Sharing

As part of the trip and a greater rebalancing of my time and effort, I’m hoping to be able to start up this newsletter and other social media and share a bit more often.

The last 6 months have been extremely challenging with work and I fell out of balance and away from my expressive and creative efforts. Since this is such a unique and transformative journey, I’m going to make an effort to remedy that and get back on a more consistent schedule.

Along with this newsletter, I’m going to try and also post some vlogs on YouTube to accompany and share more of my thoughts along the way. I’ll either link videos in the email (as I did above), or send a separate email that are more video focused. We’ll see what kind of cadence I can keep up.

I’ve always struggled greatly with perfectionism, so I am going to try and prioritize posting and getting something out rather than form, structure and topic. I will mix in tech and creative thoughts, as always, but for the time being I’ll be focusing more on sharing thoughts of the time and my experiences.

Although this letter has already become a bit long, I imagine some of the others might be short. (And here I am over-explaining myself and soft apologizing before I even start. Just post, Michael 😆)

Setting Sail

My good friend Josh and I used to say that being on the road on tour with our bands was like setting out to sea and living the Pirate Life. New adventures and experiences, meeting new people and creating memories that will last a life time. The experiences I had then were some of the best in my life. So far…

So, here I stand, on the brink of some well needed adventure and new experience, ready to set sail and once again live the Pirate Life.

I took action, I made the decision.

I’m finally a digital nomad.

I’ll share more as I experience it.

Michael

I remember watching Ray Kurzweil speak as part of a Google I/O event shortly after he joined the tech giant as Director of Engineering ten years or so ago.

I was vaguely familiar with who he was before, but after hearing him speak, I was inspired to dive further into his thoughts on technology and philosophy.

His theories on future tech expanded beyond just rational logic to philosophies on its effects on humanity, culture, economy, and even spirituality, which really resonated with me. After I found out that he was also a prolific entrepreneur and inventor who created his own synthesizer brand (kurzweil.com), I became a legitimate fan.

Most recently, his name has resurfaced in the broader public after he was a guest on the Joe Rogan podcast, where he discussed the increasing impact of technology and AI on humanity and society as it continues to spread at an impressive speed.

In a couple of weeks, he’ll be publishing his new book, “The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI”, in which he’ll bring an updated perspective on his theories predicting how technology will transform the human race in the decades to come.

Ahead of that, I find myself reflecting on some of the concepts he’s presented regarding the merging of humans and machines, immortality, and a future with sentient AI.

The Singularity

Kurzweil is best known outside of tech circles for his theories around the concept of The Singularity, which are outlined in his original groundbreaking 2005 book on the topic, “The Singularity Is Near”.

In it, he makes two bold and transformative predictions:

1. By 2029, AI will surpass human intelligence and master the Turing test.

2. By 2045, humans will intellectually and biologically merge with AI in a phenomenon called 'The Singularity.'

In his predictions, he applies his “Law of Accelerating Returns” to estimate that technology advances at an exponential rate, doubling in capability approximately every two years.

It’s initially easy to overlook the impact that such a theory could have on progress, but if we look at the advancements of the last 100 years, the growth curve of technology does indeed seem to skew toward exponential.

From the proliferation of machinery such as cars and efficient factory production to the smartphone and now AI, the doubling rate of new technology and its impact on our lives is now cycling at a rapid pace.

The effect of that is mind-blowing if you think about where we are and where we are going.

Kurzweil’s theories further describe the continued integration of human and machine intelligence. He envisions a future where brain-computer interfaces enable seamless connectivity between our minds and the cloud, vastly expanding human intelligence. This advanced integration will enhance cognitive capabilities, provide instantaneous access to information, and improve memory and learning processes, effectively merging biological and non-biological intelligence into a new hybrid form.

Another profound prediction is the use of medical nanobots—tiny machines capable of traveling through our bloodstream to repair tissues, deliver drugs, and perform complex medical procedures at a cellular level. This technology promises radical life extension, potentially pushing human lifespans far beyond the current age limit.

He suggests that immersive virtual reality will transform how we interact and experience the world, blurring the lines between physical and digital realities. We can already see virtual and augmented reality tech of today as a precursor to its eventual potential.

Kurzweil also envisions a future where exponential growth in technology drives profound changes across society. He predicts the rise of renewable energy and the widespread adoption of 3-D printing, which will revolutionize manufacturing and significantly reduce waste. These advancements, along with the rapid progression of technology, are expected to alleviate poverty and enhance overall well-being, leading to a more prosperous and healthier society.

Kurzweil's optimistic outlook extends to the societal impacts of these exponential technologies, driving innovation, reducing violence, and improving living standards globally. He emphasizes that these advancements will not only transform industries but also address some of humanity's most pressing challenges, creating a future where technology and human life are deeply intertwined, leading to unprecedented levels of well-being and societal harmony.

Future Becoming Present

Reflecting on how far we’ve come in the last few decades, it’s pretty impressive to note how accurate the imagination of Science Fiction has historically been in predicting coming technology.

Wireless communication devices in Star Trek from the 1960s are now an integral part of our daily lives as smartphones.

The same with Zoom-like video calls seen in both Star Trek and Blade Runner from the 60s and 80s.

Autonomous vehicles from Total Recall and Knight Rider are becoming more and more common.

And most recently, AI partners in both work and romance are materializing in our lives, resembling Jarvis in “Iron Man” and Samantha in the movie “Her.”

Stemming from Kurzweil’s predictions, it’s mind-blowing to think what new sci-fi realities might emerge in the coming years.

Within our lifetimes, we could very conceivably witness forms of digital immortality as seen in “Transcendence,” disease-eliminating med-bays as seen in “Elysium,” hyper-realistic virtual worlds like “The Matrix,” and fully autonomous sentient robots like in every sci-fi movie ever.

As Kurzweil suggests, with coming advances in medicine and health, people already born today could end up living many years beyond the current expected human lifespan.

It is truly an amazing time to be alive and witness such a rapid evolution of technology and civilization.

I’m convinced that in the distant future, society will look back upon this time as a seminal period in the evolution and transformation of human history.

And with history being written so quickly and with such divergence right before our eyes, the choices and paths we take now will have a great effect upon the future.

Share

How Do We Navigate Such a Rapidly Approaching Future?

With technology continuing to advance exponentially across industries and artificial intelligence exploding into the consumer space, there is much evolving and being decided now that will shape our collective futures.

How do we ensure that we maintain a course that is collectively beneficial for humanity and the world in which we inhabit?

It seems that many of these decisions are currently happening in the hallowed and hidden halls of power brokers within big tech, corporate, and government buildings.

Perhaps there is an underlying correlation, but it seems like the coming seismic shifts in technology come at a precarious time in society and the economy where the power and wealth divide is getting wider and wider. At times, the powers that be seem to take what they want and do what they want, and at best maybe ask forgiveness later if the negative blowback hurts their bottom line enough.

But as always, the world and its societies are made up of many people, with all of us having the power to affect the future.

As with all societal factors in our modern world, staying up-to-date and informed on evolving issues backed with critical thinking is essential to separate the signal from the noise and keep up awareness of what is happening in the bigger picture.

As discouraged as I personally get about politics, government, and power imbalance, I have faith that well-informed and unified people can still change the world when working together.

The same actions of political inclusion in voting, speaking out, and being an active part of the conversation to inform and influence apply here as well. Part of the reason I wanted to start this newsletter was to be a part of the conversation in this changing time.

Technology can also have a normalizing effect and empower individuals and smaller groups to do big things. AI certainly holds the promise of this quality in various regards. With technological capability, motive, and a mission, all of us have the power to play a part in the current transformation and influence our collective direction.

In such a dynamic time, adaptability, curiosity, and action are the most valuable skills we can possess to navigate us through the next horizon.

An Exciting Era

On a more personal note, I think of the coming advances in medicine and quality of life ushered in by technology, and it makes me think more about health and longevity.

Considering that it is possible to see major diseases and factors of aging eradicated in the coming years definitely inspires me to focus more on being healthy today!

It’s weird but exciting to think that things like cancer, heart disease, and other common afflictions could be eradicated in the not-too-distant future, enabling longer, healthier, and happier lives for ourselves and our loved ones.

Extending from that the utopian notion that technology can serve to support the essentials of survival, such as food production, shelter construction, and all the tedium of life maintenance that occupies so much of our daily energy.

The prospect of not having to work so hard on survival and having the time freed up to experience, connect, and expand is extremely exciting to me!

It’s amazing to think that all this is possible, assuming we are vigilant in finding and maintaining the right direction today.

Personally, I’m extremely excited about the potential that the future holds and am grateful to live in such a dynamic time as we watch the future unfold.

I also can’t wait to hear what new thoughts Dr. Kurzweil has to offer us in his upcoming book. I’ll definitely be reading it when it comes out.

If you’re interested as well, I’ve included links in the “Exciting Tech Literature” section below.

~ Michael

Exciting Tech Literature of The Week

“The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology” by Ray Kurzweil

Amazon Store Link: “The Singularity is Near”

Ray Kurzweil’s seminal publication on The Singularity in which he predicts our merging with technology to form a vibrant future.

In it, the renowned futurist takes us on an exhilarating journey into the future, predicting a time when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence and leads to a profound transformation of our world. He outlines his "Law of Accelerating Returns," showing how technological advancements grow exponentially, doubling every two years. Kurzweil envisions a future where humans and AI merge, enhancing our cognitive abilities, extending our lifespans with medical nanobots, and creating a society where renewable energy and 3-D printing revolutionize our way of life. This visionary book not only charts the technological milestones leading to the Singularity but also explores the profound societal impacts, promising a future of enhanced well-being and unimaginable possibilities.

“The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI” by Ray Kurzweil (pre-order)

Amazon Store Link: “The Singularity Is Nearer”

In his forthcoming follow-up edition, Kurzweil brings a fresh perspective on our rapid advances toward the Singularity. He revisits his 1999 prediction that AI will reach human-level intelligence by 2029, emphasizing the exponential growth of technology and how it will soon expand human intelligence a millionfold, transforming human life forever. Kurzweil delves into fascinating topics such as rebuilding the world atom by atom with nanobots, achieving radical life extension beyond the age of 120, and reinventing intelligence by connecting our brains to the cloud. He explores how these exponential technologies are driving innovation across industries, improving well-being, reducing poverty and violence, and fostering the growth of renewable energy and 3-D printing. However, Kurzweil also addresses the potential perils of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and AI, including the impact on employment, the safety of autonomous cars, and the intriguing concept of "After Life" technology, which aims to virtually revive deceased individuals through their data and DNA.

My Creative Updates

I have an upcoming show at the world famous Whisky A-GoGo with a bunch of talented music friends in a few weeks on Saturday, July 6th. I’ll be playing a handful of original songs acoustically and am thinking of trying a new cover for the show…

I attended the Cruel World festival out here in Pasadena a little while back at which Duran Duran headlined and after a brilliantly executed live set I am a legitimate fan. I’ve always liked their music, but to hear the veteran lineup led by Simon Le Bon and his impeccable live vocals was beyond inspiring.

I was so inspired that I think my friends and I are going to attempt the vocally challenging “Ordinary World” as a cover song for the show. It also fits thematically with the show and the state of some of the world today, so a wrong or flat note will be insignificant in comparison, I think.

I’m looking forward to it, maybe I’ll be able to sneak some footage to share.

Event link for the LA locals: https://www.facebook.com/events/801396908635164/

Writing is one of the most powerful and diverse tools that we have.

My first experience with creativity and self-expression was through writing.

I barely remember how or why I started, no one instructed me to, but I have memories of sitting in class and writing out the strange patterns and expressions of my developing mind and the identity and understanding it was hoping to find.

I knew no one but myself would ever read the passages, but I somehow felt more understood and in balance by collecting these difficult new thoughts and emotions and manifesting them outside myself.

I didn’t realize it then, but looking back, writing was an extremely helpful tool for me to work through dark and difficult adolescent emotions. It somehow made me feel more sane and in control. It simply made me feel better.

That habit and practice of externalizing expressions and emotions eventually led me to music. That beautiful and more abstract medium allowed me to more safely reveal parts of my vulnerable self to the world. Through that I was able to process, grow and connect even more.

I only fairly recently started publicly publishing any actual writing (this newsletter), but my history with the practice of it has been extremely useful for processing emotions, collecting thoughts and growing to be a more effective communicator.

A good relationship with writing can benefit you too.

Writing for Mental Health

Outside of my own personal experience processing emotions, research has shown that expressive writing and journaling can lead to improvements in both psychological and physical well-being.

Studies by Dr. James Pennebaker, a pioneer in expressive writing research, demonstrate that journaling about stressful or traumatic experiences can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and even strengthen immune function. By regularly expressing thoughts and feelings through writing, individuals can better understand and manage their emotions, leading to improved mental health outcomes and greater emotional resilience.

Writing can even help with sleep.

Writing down worries before bed is a powerful way to organize thoughts and externalize anxiety, creating a mental roadmap for addressing concerns the next day. This practice, similar to mental decluttering, improves sleep quality by providing a structured outlet for unresolved thoughts, allowing the mind to relax. Research shows that expressive writing can alleviate anxiety and enhance emotional clarity, making it easier to process worries with a fresh perspective in the morning. By dedicating a few minutes each night to jotting down concerns and action steps, individuals can achieve a sense of closure, leading to more restful sleep and a more focused approach to tackling issues upon waking.

You can start your own journaling practice by setting aside a few minutes each morning or evening in a quiet space. Use a notebook or digital app, and write freely about your thoughts and feelings without worrying about grammar or structure. Aim to journal daily, even if only for a few minutes. Over time, this practice can help you process emotions, reduce stress, and gain greater clarity and self-awareness.

Writing for Consolidation of Thought and Effective Communication

Beyond the value of processing emotions, effective writing is essential in our increasingly online professional world. Developing strong writing skills can enhance your job performance and even help you build your own business.

Clear and concise writing is crucial for remote work and email communication, where misunderstandings can lead to costly errors. In remote work settings, writing ensures that ideas and instructions are conveyed accurately, fostering better collaboration and productivity among team members.

In the entrepreneurial realm, writing is indispensable for organizing business plans and concepts.

Whether drafting a detailed business proposal or creating social content, clear writing helps articulate your vision and strategy effectively.

Published online content, such as blog posts and articles, not only builds your brand but also establishes your authority in your field. By honing your writing skills, you can present complex ideas in an accessible way, making it easier to attract and engage with your audience.

Ultimately, writing aids in the consolidation of thought, allowing you to refine your ideas and communicate them with clarity, whether you're addressing a team, potential investors, or your customer base.

Writing as Prompting Practice

Writing and language are the foundations of our culture and society as humans and have been the key to advancement of civilization for thousands of years.

We are now entering an era where human language is going through a Renaissance and becoming more important than ever for a new reason…

Communication with machines.

As ChatGPT and other AI chatbots have quickly integrated into our daily lives, their power and potential are apparent. But, if you’re like me, once you get past the novelty prompts of lists of jokes and movies to watch and asking it to write a movie script about a human that falls in love with an AI, it can be a little difficult to get the exact results that you want.

The deeper you get into a concept or topic, the more context and clarity that you have to provide in your prompt text. Going further, if you want a specific format or style, you need to provide good examples to show the AI what you expect to get in response.

When I first started prompting with ChatGPT, I admit I struggled a bit to find more complex answers that I was looking for. I had to put in real work to define and communicate exactly what it was that I expected. It took me longer than I wanted it to.

Around that same time (about a year ago) that I started regularly using ChatGPT, I was starting to write regularly in a practice that led to the creation of this newsletter.

On that path as well, I struggled in the beginning to efficiently organize the concepts and thoughts on a topic into the final form of well written and articulated text. I could always find a concept, but translating that to a coherent and well flowing article was tough.

Sometimes it would take me many hours or even days to finally get to something I was satisfied with.

But over time I started to get better. The path from concept to outline to written text got shorter and shorter and less painstaking as I was able to flow thoughts to typed words more easily.

Like so many things, practice makes progress and the iteration of repetition more strongly connects the neural pathways from brain to fingers until it becomes second nature.

The more you “get your reps in”, the less you have to consciously think about the specific actions and the more you can unconsciously flow.

As I’ve been able to think less and flow more with writing, it’s been a pleasant and encouraging surprise to notice how that progress has made me a better prompter and communicator with AI.

Human Language is the New Code

We are now firmly set in the AI Revolution, the next evolution of civilization. The key ability for harnessing the potential of the powerful machines that are evolving all around us is our communication with them.

For the history of computers up until now, that communication has always been done through code.

Code is a language.

It is a complex and largely abstract language that requires rigid structure and organization, but at its core it is a language with which to communicate with machines.

As AI continues to get smarter, the language needed to communicate with it will get less and less complex, all the way up to the achievement of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) when we will be able to converse with and direct it exactly as we would another human. Albeit a human with the intelligence of the entire internet and beyond.

AGI may still be a ways off, but with ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, and all the other chatbots out there, the ability to write clear and concise instructions with human language is powerful for leveraging their potential.

As AI continues to get smarter improve, more work will be done via human language instruction of machines. The core of that work on our end is the organization of thought and clear communication through writing.

The same skill that I’m practicing while writing this newsletter.

I’ll admit, sometimes I get short on time or tired or lack focus for some reason or other, and I procrastinate or put off my writing.

But now realizing all the benefits from mental health, professional acumen to the ability to effectively communicate with our AI co-workers of the future, it’s easier than ever to find motivation.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

ChatGPT-4o

https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/

The crystal ball of yesterday’s Sci-Fi fiction continues to predict the future of today. Recently OpenAI released a new version of their GPT model, ChatGPT-4o (the “o” stands for “omni”), and even Sam Altman is making references to the movie “Her” with it’s new, improved ability to converse with a life like and emotive sounding voice.

There’s even drama brewing around how close they made the voice to sound like Scarlett Johansson after she reportedly rejected a deal to license her own voice.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/openai-pulls-chatgpt-voice-sounds-like-scarlett-johansson-1235904085/

SciFi drama aside, it is a step forward in the AI capabilities race, albeit a smaller and seemingly more marketing fueled one. Here is more about the model:

ChatGPT-4o boasts several exciting new features that set it apart. It has a significantly improved understanding of nuanced language, allowing it to handle complex and detailed conversations with ease. The AI also excels in context retention, remembering the flow of longer chats without requiring constant reminders. Whether you're managing a major project, seeking creative inspiration, or simply looking for a smart conversational partner, ChatGPT-4o is designed to meet your needs. This update marks a leap forward, making AI interaction smoother and more intelligent.

My Creative Updates

Things have felt a bit crazy lately as I attempt to balance client work, side projects and fitting in creativity where I can. Add to that a potential move coming up, and I get scatterbrained more easily lately.

That said I’m doing a decent job of keeping up and learning more and more about process and decision making with each push, so as always, progress…

We are working on an awesome feature for Niche Creator which involves training a chatbot on ways to help multipotentialites get unstuck. It’s been a really fun process to learn, albeit sometimes wrapping my mind in a bit of knot. Working with training AI on data is a different way of thinking that falls somewhere between creative and technical, so it takes a different kind of energy to work on. I’m really grateful to have a cool project with which to explore this kind of cutting edge tech and am excited to talk more about it in the near future.

Musically, I have a handful of songs I’m itching to record, so trying to time box sessions here and there to make progress on that.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I used a recent show as a deadline to try to finish a new song. As proof, here is a short clip of me performing the newly written song for the first time. It’s called “Not Our Time.”

I love computers.

And it’s a good thing too, because between client work and side projects and even passions like music production, I end up spending a lot of my life basking in the warm glow of blue light as I toil away in front of computer screens at different stations in my weekly routine.

It’s quite a miraculous and marvelous thing that we can do so much and be connected to almost the entirely of the known world through the neon portals that we all peer through in our daily lives.

And with onset of remote work as a result of those capabilities, it is easier than ever to make money and socialize with friends, family and strangers around the world while we pursue dreams of creativity, all within the walls of our own homes.

I am completely all for it.

As a long time computer nerd and probably all too comfortable spending time alone introvert, it is the kind of scenario that I would have dreamed of when I was young.

But, even I have my limits.

Blue Light Burnout

Call it cabin fever, remote work burnout, self imposed seasonal affective disorder, or even just stir crazy, as human animals we weren’t really meant to spend the majority of our waking hours hunched over at a desk peering into a 2D glowing square.

Now, don’t get me wrong, as a self professed, and mostly unapologetic workaholic, I’m not criticizing the endless pursuit of optimizing hours in a hustle headed effort to achieve more in less amount of time, it’s the American way (or Western capitalist way), after all.

And again, so much is now capable with computers, the internet and this new era of emerging opportunity with AI, opportunity should absolutely be pursued with all vigor possible.

I am, however, acknowledging that until our physical evolution results end in our eventual form of slugs with oversized eyes and brain plugged into a computer interface, or likely sooner, Neuralink or similar tech integrates directly into our brains for a Matrix-like existence, then we need to acknowledge the broader beings that we currently are and honor the physical side.

After countless hours and days planted and mentally ramped up, but physically unstimulated, our bodies tend to sap our motivation as our productivity wanes and the fruits of our efforts start to fade with diminishing returns. Days of same blend together and we more easily lose track of why and what we are pushing for in the first place.

So, it seems, in order to maximize our potential, we need to in fact force ourselves to be more human and actually take breaks to get out and be a part of this world.

Truth told, I love nature and the outdoors and part of the inspiration to work on my pursuits is to hopefully, maybe, one day as a result, create more time to enjoy such things.

But, we all know that borrowing time today in hopes of a potential future can be a risky bet, so we must find harmony in our everyday endeavors.

Like so many things, it comes down to balance, and, for me at least, a walk, a hike or a weekend away makes has a huge effect on restoring and recharging my mental and motivational capacity.

The trick it seems is to remember and convince yourself to do it. Perhaps more difficult for some than others.

Environmental Inspiration

I’m sure everyone has experienced the feeling of getting stale while working on a task for a long time, maybe stuck on a problem, or tapped out of creative inspiration, only to finally break for a short walk to clear your head which then brings new perspective and a resulting solution to the previously insurmountable task.

Or perhaps after a long day of working on a challenging task, banging your head as you push for completion, you resolve to rest for the night and pick up in the morning, only to have the solution come to you instantly in the daylight hours.

The guaranteed reset and replenishment of inspirational energy for me has always been a destination vacation where new experiences and cultures, whether locally or distant, reveal new perspectives and spark creative thoughts and inspiration. The longer the better, but even only a day or two away on a weekend escape has always served to restore me and put me back on track.

In that somewhere is the key to life I think.

Along with close relationships, new experiences and achievement through work round out a fulfilling balance to life, for me at least.

I’ve always loved the idea of traveling to different locations and taking in the unique energy of that place as creative inspiration to see what it produces. A cabin in the woods perhaps with the feeling of peaceful solitude amidst nature; what thoughts and feelings does that conjure in contrast to a busy city center in a foreign country?

I still dream of being able to travel more and test that technique with prose, vlogging and songwriting inspired by the energies of different cities and natural sites across the country and world.

Perhaps one day, but short of that I’ve often thought that it is a necessity to break out of your routine and experience something new every four to six weeks to keep a minimum level of balance. It could be out in nature or visiting a new city and might only be a weekend, but ideally away from the normal routine for at least a couple nights.

Creatively speaking, how can you possibly have anything to write about without living the experiences of life about which you can write?

Joshua Tree

This past week, for my first time after a very busy first four months of the year, I finally took my own advice and took a weekend trip out to Joshua Tree, one of my favorite spots for creative inspiration and escape here in Southern California.

I was way overdue and had long been feeling the effects of blue light burnout, but it definitely served it’s purpose to renew and recharge my motivational energies.

I definitely wish it would have been more than the two nights that I stayed, but in a place like that, so far away from the routines of the city in both energy and geography, a couple days can have a huge effect.

Growing up in the Mid West, I always thought desert areas to be like those of the Sahara that you see in the movies, just endless dunes of sand and desolation. But out here in Joshua Tree there is such beauty in the unique geography, vegetation and even wildlife that defines the area.

There is way more flora and fauna out in the desert than I would have initially thought, and combined with unique rock formations and supposedly even measurable levels of magnetic fields, the energy of the area is quite uplifting.

Here are some photos from the trip. They barely do justice to the feeling of actually being there, but you can get an idea.

As expected, I’ve felt renewed energy since being back and am excited to continue on working on music and progress with the Niche Creator app.

Client work has been pretty cool lately too, as we’re wrapping up a golf course creator app for Amazon Web Services and the PGA Tour which should be launching in the next couple weeks.

As I type that, I realize that its a lot to take on in a weekly routine, I’ll need to keep tabs on my motivation and energy.

I think I’ll need to plan another getaway in four to six weeks.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

All Trails

https://www.alltrails.com/

Ok, this isn’t really “tech” per se, but it is a website with data that might encourage all of us overachieving laptop lovers to get out and be a part of this beautiful, natural world that we were born into and are lucky to still have.

They have hiking locations all across the country and most of the world with great community input on hike difficulty and conditions as well as other recommendations.

My sister and I used this app to find the amazing 12,000 foot summit hike at Mineral King in King’s Canyon near Sequoia a couple years ago.

There are much smaller local hikes all over as well for any level you can imagine.

Highly recommended.

My Creative Updates

I stayed true to my goal of finishing a new song for the house party performance that I played last weekend! For a persistent procrastinator like me, it feels really good to follow through, especially on a subjective, creative goal like finishing a song.

It’s always been a life goal of my to become prolific at translating emotions and expressions into music, and I feel one step closer by following through 😃

This past week I’ve also been working on getting together training data an initial prototype for an AI chatbot for Niche Creator. It’s been a great exercise that has made me realize the breadth and potential of tech in our current era. I’m really excited about what is possible as we continue to make progress.

Looking forward to sharing more progress on music and tech projects in the near future.

It’s crazy to think that its been well over a year since the generative AI image service MidJourney bubbled up to the front of public perception.

At its start, it was novel at best, spitting out deformed shapes and compositions that weren’t necessarily beautiful to look at, but impressive nonetheless given they were being drawn, like magic, from the digital ether through the power of machine learning and AI.

Fast forward to the present and with a few sentences of text description you can output anything from photo-realistic masterpieces to the wildest avant-garde imagery that your imagination can conjure.

Once it hit that tipping point at the critical mass of quality, everyone was exposed and now generative imagery has become part of our modern digital media workflows.

Music is following a delayed, but similar journey. It is just about to hit that same moment of impressive disbelief that MidJourney did right before AI images exploded into the mainstream.

AI Music: Slowly then All at Once

I’ve been following AI music for years, mostly keeping an eye on Google’s Magenta project which has had impressive, but fairly rudimentary breakthroughs along the way. I’m not a machine learning expert, but I learned a good amount from following that project.

As I understand it Google, and subsequently the Magenta project were the first to author and apply the “transformer” deep learning architecture that is now the basis of all the major AI advancements that we are seeing on the consumer side, including ChatGPT.

During the time I was following their project, it took a decent level of technical knowledge to get anything interesting to work.

And for a while I figured there would be a whole, fairly long era of nerdy musicians piecing together code to produce AI generated parts and tracks.

But then all of a sudden, all at once, fully produced tracks are now available to the public with only the entry of a short text prompt.

I am continually blown away by the speed of advancement of AI and how fast everything is moving. It is truly exponential growth as new advancements are ushered forth faster and faster based on previous gains.

The interesting thing about this era and the speed of adoption of new technology is that it has never happened this fast before.

Humans are creatures of habit and we take time to adapt. There have been many in our history, the printing press, the combustion engine, the internet, the iPhone, but with each advancement the cycle shortens.

Now with AI it’s faster than ever.

I digress, and maybe that’s a broader topic for another entry, but with music the new capabilities that are emerging are far from what we’ve seen so far.

A New Level with Udio and Suno AI

In the past month or so, two leading AI music services have released new versions of their text to music generation models that truly demonstrate the speed of these advancements.

Just a couple weeks ago former researchers from the Google Deepmind project launched their new generative music app, Udio, which can generate a short song, complete with vocals, in just about any genre, existing or completely new, that you can imagine.

Rather than attempt to describe in words what it is capable of, here are some examples.

• Country - https://www.udio.com/songs/jGjYfsRosZjYTkSBdFgEyF

• Dune Broadway - https://www.udio.com/songs/eY7xtug1dV6hbfCDhyHJua

• Pop Punk (complete with annoying vocal) - https://www.udio.com/songs/4vHynYzJpxULVB1PNzvuj7

• Heavy Rock - one I created about how synthetic singers have higher range (not nearly as impressive though, right?!) - https://www.udio.com/songs/cCYg39Sc1g1uwxo5AtBQvC

Another extremely impressive music generation app leading the charge is Suno AI, which announced their public release not too long before Udio.

Their app doesn’t seem to have quite the polish as Udio in its current version, especially with vocals, but it demonstrates some extremely impressive results as well.

Here is one that includes a rad 80s metal guitar solo:

• Hair Metal (ripping guitar solo) - https://suno.com/song/02504260-eaf3-4e21-ad20-cdff56791186

I knew that AI music generation would be at this level eventually, but actually hearing it is pretty mind blowing. You can imagine where this technology will be in another year or two. It’s crazy to think about.

As someone who has dedicated at least several thousand or more hours of his life learning the skills to write, produce and perform music that AI can now do within seconds, I definitely have questions, as I’m sure you do as well.

Casual Song-prompting (Songwriting?)

It’s interesting to me how this technology is rolling out, but as I think about it, it makes sense from a business perspective.

As I followed Google’s Magenta and other AI music developments over the past years, I assumed that the tools and capabilities that came would come available first would be more as part of music production process, helping writers and producers with individual parts of the process such as mixing, midi generation, drum fill generators, etc.

But now it’s clear that the biggest impact on the market will be the AI generation of entire tracks of music that completely replaces the existing music production process.

The biggest reason for that is: business. And to a secondary degree, marketing.

Music writing, production and performance have been, and still are, pretty difficult processes that require thousands of hours of investment in knowledge and practice to become good enough at to create releasable tracks that would be appealing enough for people to want to listen to.

Because of that, the amount of people that would create music in the past is a fairly small part of the populous. In a business sense, a small market to which to sell products such as instruments, mixing tools and software, and other services that are a part of the traditional music making process.

But almost EVERYONE wants to create music, even if most aren’t willing to invest the hours to do so in the traditional way, even with recent advances such as digital audio workstations in the recent years.

This opens up a huge market with AI for music fans to now create their own music as simply as entering a text prompt.

With an expanded market of exponential degree over traditional music makers, the profit possibility is enormous. It is essentially a new and untapped market and with it the possibility to make a lot of money.

For this reason, the purely generated text-to-music side, with its ease of use, is what we are seeing first in the market. It provides the greatest potential for growth and profit.

That being said, I think the advanced AI tools are still coming to serve the traditional music makers, and that is the part I’m actually pretty excited about.

Tools that help you focus more on the creative side of creation rather than the technical aspects of mixing and sound design. Tools that enable a new level of possibility for musicians, producers and composers with talent and vision.

The Copyright Issue

This topic is a bit outside the scope of this article, but worth mentioning. There is a big argument and conflict arising over how AI models, used by apps such as Udio and Suno, are trained and whether or not they use copyrighted work without permission.

There is more and more evidence arising to support that they do, which brings up all kinds of new arguments about intellectual property and copyright in the AI era.

There are two camps on this topic in the music market, basically the e/acc (Effective Accelerationism; basically tech advancement by any cost or method) and, traditional artists.

AI, and how it is created / trained and used in the open market, is a new area of commerce and with it comes the discussion of new laws and definitions around copyright.

Using copyrighted material without permission is easy to be viewed as not a good thing, but knowing the tech startup mantra, I believe these companies are racing to push the needle far enough fast enough that argument for advancement will compromise traditional copyright protections.

Personally, I see both sides. I’ve devoted many thousands of hours into the skills required to write, perform and produce music and it pains me more than a bit to see and feel that devalued, but I’m also a technologist and believe that progression and advancement are always the way forward, if done so ethically and compassionately.

The truth is, disruption and advancement have always been a part of our society and economy and it has often caused some pain in the more drastic instances.

AI is unique in this though, I believe, because of its exponential ability to scale.

Some more rudimentary arguments on the e/acc, tech forward at all costs side say that music should be a hobby and passion for creating should be devoid of the need for money, but the existing many billion dollar industry would probably disagree.

The truth is, money is a tool and resource that fuels the energy and time needed to create anything, whether a business, or art, or the business of art. The more money you can make off your art, the more time you can free up by not needing to work other jobs, and subsequently more you can focus on mastering your business or art to become something truly unique and valuable to society.

That’s how economy works and how we’ve gotten so much valuable art and other ideas to come to exist in society.

Again, a broader topic for further discussion in the future, but something that is rapidly developing and affecting the future of the industry and existing traditional creators.

What Will Happen To The Music Industry?

It’s pretty clear that the emergence of AI generated music and the quality it is already exhibiting will have a big effect on the music industry as we know it.

Outside of pop stars and rockstars there has long been segments of the behind the scenes industry that have been lucrative for music creators that aren’t public artists.

Library and sync music, for instance, have long provided a way for songwriters and producers to make money either full time or on the side as they try to grow as an artist.

Composers creating music for film and TV extend down from the top tier of known names to the secondary ranks of media providing a way to make a living for talented creators in the middle class.

Unfortunately, I believe those areas of the music industry will be exposed to the biggest disruption from AI generated music.

Having dabbled in the past with library music production and composing (which I absolutely love to do) as a means of supporting myself, I know that in the up-and-coming levels of film and media production, budget is always an issue. If producers and directors can get a close enough score or placement for a fraction of the cost of human made music using AI, they will absolutely go with the monetary savings.

That said, from the perspective of the director and film creator, this is a positive thing. There is only so much budget and money that can go around and creation and completion of the higher vision of storytelling is the goal. AI music will allow writers and directors to become composers in their own way with AI doing the heavy lifting of composition, theory and music production.

I strongly believe in the talent of music writing and composing and that will absolutely still exist at the higher levels where there is budget, but the cost saving potential of AI is too great to ignore.

Furthermore, other areas of “functional” music, like mediation, yoga, and commercial scores and licensed music will very clearly be the work of AI in the future, at least in the majority.

These changes in the balance of creation and industry can certainly be seen as both a positive or a negative depending on your current position and view, but the fact is significant disruption is happening and is coming fast.

On the other side of the industry involving labels and artists, I definitely see the trend of pop factory, formulaic pop star creation continuing to an even greater degree as labels get hold of AI that can mix and match hits from past decades into “fresh” new songs and sounds that have the built in assurance of investment of past hits (cue again the copyright and training discussion).

Again, the trend feels like its been going this way for awhile, but I see the divergence of “entertainment” and “art” separating even further as AI music potential grows and the label money side of the industry pushes for the “sure thing” regarding their investment.

To be honest, I don’t intend to sound negative with any of this, disruption is change, and sometimes change can be uncomfortable.

At the end of the day, music is art and art is expression and connection between humans. And humans as a collective define demand and value within a market.

The further shift to entertainment vs art by the traditional music industry and its investors has been happening for decades. And I personally feel this is creating a hole where people are more and more creating connection and authenticity.

AI tools and capabilities will also provide independent creators to do much more with less and start a movement to empower communities around authentic art devoid of profit hungry gate keepers.

The Future of Human Artists

As AI music develops, I think the music industry will segment into 3 different categories:

1. Label Driven Entertainment

2. Consumer Created Music

3. Independent Artists

1. Label Entertainment

As we just discussed, over recent decades, music labels have been more and more focused on turning a profit on their investment by sticking with the “sure thing” and not taking too much risk with the artists they sign and support. As AI music grows, I think it will support that framework, allowing them to focus on signing the new pretty face and then using the help of AI to generate music content inline with what has worked so well in the past.

That combined with the ability to leverage the vast catalogues from hugely famous legacy artists to create new value around them. Imagine a new release from huge artists of the past that are no longer with us such as Hendrix, Bowie, Elvis or John Lennon with The Beatles (which has already happened: “Now and Then” with John Lennon)

This legacy capability will create huge value for labels as it taps into nostalgia for personalities and sounds of the biggest artists in history during the era (now fading) of larger than life rockstars and celebrity musicians.

2. Consumer Created Music

AI text-to-music capability as we’re seeing with Udio and Suno will create an entirely new market where music fans and listeners will be able to create their own music by just describing a song with a text input without the need for thousands of hours of practicing guitar or learning to sing in key.

Curiosity will spark endless creation as users follow their prompt curiosity and mix and match genres and remix existing artists tracks with new vocals and sounds.

The tech companies championing this full generation capability of AI music will create and tap into a brand new market of users who love music and want to create but don’t have the skills to do so through traditional methods.

3. Independent Artists

There is a reason that music has become such a big part of our lives and society. It is a part of our essence as humans. It has a spiritual quality. The connection that happens from forming an emotional expression to which we can all relate into a beautiful sonic medium is nothing short of magic and in my opinion is such a beautiful piece of the human condition.

The artists that have the ability to so aptly channel these feelings are truly special and will always supersede the ability of machines and casual creators.

I don’t see this aspect of music and art ever completely going away, and it certainly won’t be replaced by machines.

New advancements in AI and digital technology will enable true artists to channel their visions and forge deeper connections with their audience without the support of labels and the huge budgets needed to do so in the past.

Focus on emotion and human connection through a broader artist story will remain a powerful way to connect and create communities.

This is what I am most excited about. Once all the hype and fear fades a bit, I think the new era will show a lot of promise for true artists and the communities that will be created by authenticity.

Also, as a side note, I think that the experience of live music with humans on stage and in the crowd moving together in harmony has the least to fear regarding disruption. To me, it is one of the greatest feelings in life.

We Need Authentic Human Artists

The fact is we need authentic artists as much as ever. With all the conflict and turmoil and imbalance in the world, art is a voice and a unifying power to pull us together and put us on the right direction.

Technology will distract, but also empower.

In the end, our society is made up of humans and together we get to collectively choose our future.

I’m excited and inspired by all the creativity and innovation that I see online daily in our new world of interconnectivity.

With compassion and creativity it will only get better.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

I already talked at length about Udio and Suno AI, the text to music generation apps that have exploded onto the market in recent months. You can play around with them and see for yourself at the links below:

Udio

https://www.udio.com/

Suno AI

https://suno.com/

My Creative Updates

I previously mentioned that I was working on a new song using an upcoming show date as a deadline. Well, the show got pushed to May 4th (giving me a little extra time) and I finished it!

I know, people finish songs every day, but my constant battle with perfectionism makes it a reason for excitement and celebration for me, haha. I’ve been keeping with the theme of staying simple with just acoustic guitar and vocals and its been a great exercise. I love production and synths and all that good stuff, but I’ll make my way back to that after getting a little better at conquering the basics.

On the more technical creative side, I’ve also been working on an exciting new feature for Niche Creator which I’ll be talking about more soon.

Lastly, it’s been a ton of work since the beginning of the year and not much time off, so I’m excited to be taking a little time to get away this weekend to Joshua Tree just outside of LA. It’s literally only a weekend, but I’ll make my way up to a proper vacation one day. I’m always so energized and inspired by exploring nature even if only briefly, my goal in the future is to make sure that I do at least a long weekend every 4-6 weeks. I’ll get there…

In tech, there’s a concept in application development called the MVP, or Minimum Viable Product.

It basically means creating the simplest version of an app or product with the minimal and most basic features necessary to validate the idea as useful to users in the marketplace.

The concept is very popular with startups and indie hackers so that they can get feedback on an idea as quickly as possible and make sure they don’t continue to invest time and money into something that nobody wants.

Once an MVP proves to have some traction and value to users, you then gather feedback on what it is they like and don’t like about the product and what additional features would be valuable to them.

In the process you receive important knowledge about the market and get the opportunity to fulfill the wants and needs of actual users who are willing to pay you to solve their problem(s).

All without spending valuable too much valuable time and energy guessing at what those users might want and need.

An MVP creates just the right amount of value to solve a problem and validate an idea.

Even if an idea isn’t successful, you end up learning a lot about the market and its users, knowledge you can take to your next project.

It is an essential approach when iterating ideas to try and find the one that will stick and turn into a viable and profitable business.

Even though I understand the concept and its value well, I still struggle to align with its principles in both indie hacking (tech) and, even more so, in creativity.

It’s something easier said than done, but awareness and discipline are key factors in staying on course and efficient.

Creative MVP

So, what is the creative version of an MVP?

I know what you’re thinking and I agree, I don’t like the word minimum being involved in describing my art.

Maybe a better acronym would be ADC: Acceptable Deliverable Creation.

Or SEA: Simplest Emotional Art

Or CEE: Core Effective Expression

We can work on the acronym, but I’m fascinated with the concept of focusing on the core effective expression that is contained in any piece of art.

If we reframe our perspective a bit and look at the basics of what art is and why we are truly creating it, then maybe we can come up with a solution.

At it’s simplest, art is an expression of thought and feeling that is manifested into a medium as a form of communication and connection with other people who resonate with the creation.

As much as we might argue, this doesn’t include the perfectionist polish from the latest tools or the countless hours spent on minute details of art, regardless of how much we justify it or think we are owed something for our effort.

Some of the best art can be extremely raw, and in that essence lies the vast majority of its power. The core of its efficacy to express and connect.

The rest of the effort certainly can contribute to style and a little to value, but it is just polish, it’s not the core of the intention.

Don’t get me wrong, as a life long perfectionist I’m not saying that meticulous detail and artistic differentiation found in toiling over the small bits don’t contribute to the whole, but let’s be honest with ourselves, it can often get in the way of the true essence of our creation.

If, like me, you’re finding that those “important” final details and polish are keeping you from completing the effort and releasing your work to the world, then those details aren’t an important piece, they’re actually a problem.

The first step to overcoming a problem is to admit you have one.

It’s tough to accept, but as the quote goes: a piece of art is never finished it is merely abandoned.

Copyrightable aspects of music, for instance, are melody and lyrics for a reason, those are the important, definable aspects.

The core elements of the expression that are responsible for the largest effect of uniqueness, connection and value.

Wouldn’t we be better off creating a hundred different core expressions than only a handful with all the polish and pain and diminishing returns bundled in?

If your goal is to revel in the process of creation and spend as much time just ruminating on various aspects because it feels good and makes you happy, that’s great! I really enjoy that aspect as well and often find it therapeutic when done with intention.

But when you desire and intend to move on to completion as part of a vision for a larger goal, then improvement must happen.

Creation Through Restriction

I’ve delayed the completion of songs so often because I wanted to learn a new synth, find the perfect guitar tone, or mix the percussion just a little better… I’m actually doing all those things right now with a bunch of songs! Ugh.

I eventually exhaust myself and then abandon the project out of frustration from the perceived feeling that I’m not making any progress.

The reason being, I keep adding work to my plate. Extending the runway so that I never take off.

And let’s be honest, obsessing over all those details is often a form of procrastination and the fear of finishing. At least I know that it is with me… terribly and regretfully so.

It feels like a safe space. We’re making “progress”, but not committing to anything so there is no chance of regretting the wrong decision.

And in the process, I let a lot of good ideas die.

I abandon the potential for new opportunities and connections and let them wither on the vine.

So, how do we find our way out of that loop?

There is ton to be said about creation through restriction. By far the most productive periods that I’ve experienced have come from imposing some kind of restriction on my goals and output.

The most obvious restriction that we know is that of time in the form of deadlines. Setting a timeline or time-boxing completion of your goals is extremely powerful.

A couple years ago I set out to write a song a day for 100 days.

I had a writing template of pre-chosen sounds, piano, bass, drum-kit and some strings / pads and that was it. I wasn’t allowed to change the sounds, because I wanted to focus on the writing not the sounds like I had so often gotten distracted with before.

It was extremely painful and not so fruitful at the start but after about a week I saw very noticeable progress and after a couple weeks I was turning out actual good ideas within a couple hours.

It was by far my biggest breakthrough in songwriting that I’ve ever had, and I still use that approach today when I want to kick start new song ideas.

The bonus is, each time you do it, you get a little better. Even after taking a break. It’s a cumulative effort, which to me is very encouraging.

It feels like I’m leveling up. Even though there is some pain at the beginning, I know I get a little better each time.

You might know of Parkinson’s Law which basically states that work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion. Without hesitation, I will vouch for it’s accuracy based on far too much experience, lol.

Conversely, when we set time limits on our efforts, it tends to force us to consciously and subconsciously make critical decisions in a more timely manner to make progress toward finishing the goal.

If there is no time limit, then all decisions can be ruminated over indefinitely.

The same concept can be applied to choices of all kinds:

• which synth preset to use

• which guitar tone

• which type of paint

• have I covered every relevant topic in full breadth and detail in this article… 🤔

The farther we go down the decision spiral, the more we risk abandoning the original essence of our expression.

This is where the idea of flow state comes in as well. When we have restrictions, we’re forced to focus on the simple forms of what matters most. We can’t afford to veer off the path too far lest we miss the mark of our deadline and goal.

Calling back to the tech and business context, the more we obsess over a feature or offering the more risk in assumption we make as to what the user or customer actually wants. The best businesses listen to and accommodate their customers through feedback, the best artists connect and grow with their audiences.

None of that can be done if you never leave the lab.

Practice Finishing

Like so many things, finishing projects is a muscle that has to be worked to gain strength and control over it. Nothing beats experience, you have to put in the reps.

Many times I’ve reflected at how many songs I’ve started and how good I’ve become at getting new ideas for them. It’s because I’ve done that part hundreds of times.

Finishing songs though? A much smaller number.

And because of that lack of practice actually finishing, I’m not as good at the decisions and skills that it takes to do so. But it makes sense, I haven’t put in my time on that part, so its going to be more difficult. And that is the part most of us need to work on.

The fact is, there is much more to be gained from finishing and moving on to a new creation or project and continuing the cycle through to the next step of promotion, marketing and connection.

I know some of those are gross words in the context of creativity, but I include playing concerts, displaying your artwork in a gallery exhibit and launching your app to help thousands of users solve their problems in that category of marketing and promotion.

For me, I always loved the duality of music creation in that I got to be internally reflective as I wrote and created in the solitude of a “studio” and then got to fulfill the other side of my being by taking that music and playing shows to connect with people directly through energy and emotion derived from those creations.

Both sides of the equation are required to complete the whole.

One without the other doesn’t work.

Stepping back to consider the app building analogy and any project or goal really; any idea or effort without release and connection or usage is only ever theoretical. However great that theory may be in concept.

A hammer without a nail is only a piece of wood and metal.

If we never accept our projects as finished and release them into the world, then growth and improvement cannot realize their true potential.

The effort invested in perfectionism yields diminishing returns and the knowledge and value lost from feedback and iteration are an opportunity cost.

Transcending the Perfectionist Archetype and Avoiding Regret

I hesitate to be overly dramatic with the “dying regret” analogy, but to put it simply, would you rather endure a period of discomfort and vulnerability and know you were pushing your limits, or live with the realization that you wasted your vast potential due to the fear of judgment or the reluctance to release something imperfect into the world?

An ironic thing to consider, given how vastly imperfect this world and all the people in it actually are.

Imperfection is something to embrace. Life is messy, no one knows exactly where they’re going, but the journey and the unexpected stories are what make it so beautiful.

Art and expression should be a part of that story. Creation should be a part of that story.

I feel mixed emotions of inspiration and regret as I even type this, but I know its true.

I’ve always said that one of my biggest fears in life is wasted potential. And I have to admit that I’ve wasted a good amount due to the patterns of perfectionism described here.

The Perfectionist Archetype is present in all of us who have potential and passion. It is a part of who we are as creatives, driving us toward excellence but also potentially leaving us worn and empty.

It is a part of us that is to be transcended as part of our creative journey.

Beyond it likes The Authentic Creator, The Rebel and the Social Disruptor.

These are all archetypes inherent within us as multipotentialites as we traverse the path toward the higher version of ourselves.

The path is long, but the effort is so incredibly worth it.

We must create and continue on…

~ Michael

P.S.

While working with on the Niche Creator app, he’s identified these archetypes (and a couple others) as part of a greater creative whole for us multi-passionate, neurodivergent types. Everyone has more of some than others, but understanding aspects of each (especially dominant ones), can help us in our progression.

The Perfectionist is a huge part of my composition and as I’ve described, and conquering it is a huge obstacle that I know will lead to greater progression for me.

If you’re curious about what your dominant archetype is, you can take the quiz here:

What Is Your Creative Archetype?

P.P.S.

If you find any grammatical, spelling or coherency errors in the above entry, please forgive them as I am working to let go a bit and transcend my perfectionist archetype 😄

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

Tweet Detective

https://www.tweetdetective.com

This app represents a field that I think will continue to grow over the coming years, which is detection of AI content. I haven’t used this app much myself to verify the accuracy, but I’ve seem the name bounce around Twitter / X a good amount and it represents an interesting utility as AI generated content proliferates.

TweetDetective.com leverages sophisticated AI to pinpoint the likelihood of tweets being AI-generated, providing a percentage-based assessment. This platform empowers users to differentiate between human and AI-authored content on Twitter, enhancing transparency. Its advanced algorithms offer a nuanced understanding of AI's role in social media, making the app a vital tool for discerning digital interactions.

My Creative Updates

I’ve been working on putting together and practicing a set list for an upcoming acoustic performance in two weeks. I’m using the show date as kind of a self imposed deadline to finish a new song that I’ve been working on (creative restriction FTW!).

It’s been a good exercise in artistic flow as I’m trying to shut down my overthinking and perfectionism as I write different sections and lyrics for the song. It’s always a battle, but a lot of it comes down to focusing on the perspective of how and why you’re writing the song. I had an existing verse part that was kind of cool, as almost a b-side type song, but then a bigger chorus popped up that sounded good, but at first didn’t fit the song.

I caught myself overthinking as I wanted to maybe make two songs because they didn’t quite fit how I originally thought they might, but then I re-framed my perspective to realize that the unique juxtaposition of the two parts might actually be different and part of my style.

That coupled with the fact that I’m shooting for a deadline so that I can perform it, along with embracing the concept that this is an expression in a moment in time and I can move on to many many more has me progressing through.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a personal experience with reframing some perfectionism to make progress and respect the process of creating and finishing.

Hopefully I’ll have it ready, love it and be performing it for the first time in a couple weeks 😄

I’ve always been a planner, a thinker. To a fault, no doubt.

Measure twice (or 5 times) and cut once. Look both ways, and up and down before your leap.

That mentality has served me fairly well up to this point in my life, but it feels more and more like overthinking and caution is holding me back.

In my family, I was raised on the importance of survival and security. Hard work, discipline, and frugality along a proven career path for a baseline of security and survival.

These are all great traits to embrace, but the latter concept of a clear and secure career path feels more and more like a notion for generations past.

Conversely, taking action on my dreams and passions are what led me to break out of my default risk averse and security seeking behavior leading to some of the largest advancements in my life and career.

The idea of a proven path is easier to accept since it supposedly addresses our dislike of uncertainty, but it is more and more becoming an illusion.

The Concept of Career Security Is Eroding

In the span of a generation concepts like pensions, strong unions, job security and employer loyalty have eroded away along with the American Dream of owning a home, retirement support with Social Security, and affordable healthcare.

It is true that economic cycles ebb and flow, but there are greater forces at work with this overarching trend and it’s heading in the wrong direction.

For younger generations, the house with a picket fence and 2.5 kids is more difficult than ever to achieve financially.

For all the greater forces happening in economics and politics that are causing these trends, the x-factor on the horizon is the rapid advancement of technology and the exponential effect that it will continue to play on economics and job market.

For the first time in history the hallowed intellectual careers of doctors, lawyers and engineers, all of which take a significant investment of time and money in schooling, are at risk of disruption by artificial intelligence.

Coupled with the aggressive profit seeking nature of modern capitalism, the traditional roles of higher education white collar positions are even more a target for automation due to the cost of labor.

And the confidence in security of these career paths are for the first time losing resolve.

Reflections on My Career in Tech

This past week the social media tech sphere was shaken up by the release of a new product called “Devin”, which touts itself as the world’s first AI software engineer.

Devin is an autonomous model that can plan, analyze, and execute complex code and software engineering tasks with a single prompt: basically build entire apps with a text prompt.

As can be imagined, it went viral and had software engineers everywhere (myself included) feeling job insecurity for the first time in their lives.

Tech has always been my through-line of security as I pursued more passionate endeavors in the hours after work. For my entire career it has been a lucrative path, and I am extremely grateful for that.

During my career, tech has continually evolved and I’ve always adapted to keep up. It’s the nature of the industry and being ever curious, it suits me pretty well.

But something in this new era of evolution feels different as advancements are now unfolding at an exponential pace.

I’m confident that the evolution will continue and I will again adapt to use my diversity of experience in creativity and broader digital media to find work in changing markets, but it is an interesting thought to consider what I would do for a career post tech to earn a living.

I love the question, “What would you do with your time if you didn’t have to worry about money?” For me it’s always been pretty easy: create and perform music, travel, and tinker around with new tech to create.

I’m lucky that I get to do some of those things pretty regularly with the security of regular programming work for other companies to keep me stable.

But because of that comfort and safety, I haven’t really pursued those other passions as aggressively as I could have. Certainly not enough to making a living off of them.

What if I needed to make money off of those things? How would I approach them differently? Would it be possible? What new opportunities might be arising in those areas because of technology?

It’s an easy and natural reaction to feel fear and unease when considering that our security might be disrupted, but with disruption also comes opportunity.

It has me starting to think of my other strengths, my diversity and passion in creativity, and my ability to adapt.

Perhaps I’ve gotten too comfortable anyway.

As the notion of security of old career paths erode, it feels more and more like its time to start taking my passions more seriously and double down on finding ways to earn a living off of them.

Domain Expertise

Another perspective to the thought of finding your strengths and opportunities in the evolving era of AI came from something Jensen Huang, President of GPU manufacturer NVIDIA, said recently regarding the need for programmers in the future.

In a recent speech, he addresses the trend happening over the last decade or so of our society encouraging people to learn to code and get in to software development as a lucrative career path.

Instead, he says the opposite: it is their job (the leading creators of AI) to create computing technology such that nobody has to program, and that the programming language itself is human.

“Everybody in the world is now a programmer”, says Huang.

He goes on to stress the concept of having “Domain Expertise” and how developing AI technology will directly serve in helping to find solutions to such domain problems in manufacturing, biology, education, farming and more.

That concept really struck me.

It made me realize that programming and technology in general are not actually domain expertise, but tools and processes to support higher level industries that serve our needs.

This led me to think: What is my domain expertise?

I initially want to say programming and tech, but after what Jensen said, those are abstractions, not actual domains.

As I reflect, it’s a little crazy for me to think that music and creativity are a couple of my strongest areas of domain expertise, along with user experience and marketing (the parent industry of tech I’ve mostly worked in).

The exercise really has me looking at the rest of my career in a different perspective and provides some excitement and motivation from news that was initially difficult to accept.

I encourage you to ask yourself the same questions.

What is your domain expertise? Does it align with your passions?

How could technology advance your knowledge and opportunities in those areas?

Passion Boosts Adaptability and Reveals Opportunity

The proliferation of technology and artificial intelligence is creating massive opportunities for creators and entrepreneurs who have a vision and the courage to take action in pursuit of their ideas.

Job security and predictable career path are more and more becoming a concept of the past.

To stay ahead and take advantage of disruption, we must embrace adaptability and the adoption of new technologies and processes to aid in achieving our goals.

As creators and dreamers we’re well equipped for this kind of future, but we must recognize and believe in our strengths and most importantly, take action.

The fire of our passion and compass of our curiosity provide the fuel for iteration and exploration of ideas in this dynamic time.

We must abandon the false notions of security that bind us to our safe routines and embrace our passions to capture the breadth of opportunity looming on the horizon.

The skills of the future are abstract: adaptability, critical thinking and creativity; all these things are greatly amplified by passion and curiosity and following that will lead to great opportunity.

Believing in Ourselves as Leaders

I can’t count how many times I’ve looked to others for validation and approval on my skills and the passions of my heart. I found myself doing it again this past week.

Almost asking permission to pursue the things for which I hold a fire inside me.

Is it ok to be a musician? Is it ok to be creative and express my thoughts and individuality online and in my career?

I know what I want to do, but is that accepted? Is it ok?

It’s all procrastination and self-doubt and fear and I get angry at myself ever time I catch myself doing it.

The truth is, as creatives we have skill, we’re adaptable and we have great intuition. These things have been proven time and time again, yet I still lack belief in myself.

Most of my creative friends and some other people that I admire are the same. Multipotentialite, motivated people with greater vision than rest of the populace, consistently doubting themselves by trying to measure up to the old path of societal security that no longer even exists.

It’s time to stop that. The future is coming too quickly.

It is as uncertain as ever and it needs leaders with vision to show us the way.

It’s a precarious time to be hedging bets for safety when it’s becoming clear that your passions can take you much farther.

There is work to be done, and those of us who have passion and vision need to reveal the path.

We can’t afford to waste further energy on doubt and awaiting permission to unleash the power of our full potential.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting (or Terrifying 😅) Tech of The Week

Devin - AI Software Engineer

https://www.cognition-labs.com/introducing-devin

The app that broke the hopes of a million devs. Devin is touted as the world’s first AI Software Engineer.

Devin is more than mere software; it embodies a pioneering AI persona skilled in the realms of software engineering, from coding and debugging to crafting apps and websites. Born from the innovative minds at Cognition under Scott Wu's leadership, Devin marks a transformative stride in integrating AI into the domain of software development. This AI marvel is revolutionizing the approach to software engineering tasks, heralding an era of AI software development.

Devin's capabilities include:

• AI-Powered Software Engineering: Devin independently manages coding, testing, and deployment across various programming languages.

• Continuous Learning: With every project, Devin hones its skills, becoming more efficient and adept.

• Human-AI Collaboration: Devin is designed to support, not replace, human engineers, thus amplifying overall team productivity.

• Practical Applications: Devin's prowess extends to real-world projects, from website design and app development to software testing, showcasing its practical utility and potential.

The future is coming quickly and it will be interesting to see what future versions of Devin and similar AI models will be able to accomplish. I’ll be doubling down on my other areas of domain expertise in the meantime 😅

My Creative Updates

I’ve been sneaking in work on some music as I prepare for an upcoming live show with a bunch of friends. I’m working on some new covers and ironing out some originals to perform. As I practice the originals I’m locking in parts for eventual recording and hope to make that process much quicker by having the songs well performed and practiced.

I’m also making progress finishing and exploring tech and features for the Niche Creator app which continues to be an exciting endeavor that I will continue to share more about as we go.

This week marks the anniversary of my Western migration from my home state of Michigan to Los Angeles to pursue my dreams of creativity.

I still remember vivid scenes of the journey across the country marked with vast expanses of open highway with nothing but corn or red rock on the horizon. The majesty of Western elevation, unveiling itself along sunsets and an infinite horizon. They are visions that I will never forget.

With all my belongings stuffed into my Oldsmobile Cutlass, I cruised into the famed city on a rainy Monday night, brimming with excitement and promise of new dreams and possibilities.

The spring in Southern California is magical, filled with the unique scents of jasmine and orange blossom, heralding the warmer months after a colder than you might think Southern California winter season.

So many years later, that smell still fills me with excitement and inspiration for new dreams and possibilities.

This City Made Me Who I Am

I made the journey out west, like so many others to pursue aspirations of achieving something greater, and in the process, test the upper limits of my potential to find a higher version of myself.

My dreams out here were two fold:

1. The typical LA moonshot of becoming a famous musician, and

2. Finding a career in creative technology.

A short month after landing on my friend’s couch in Santa Monica (then a shared apartment in West Hollywood) I was lucky enough to land a programming and animation job at Disney.

So quickly after finding the courage and taking the leap to pursue my dreams, one of them was already well on its way, and would define the trajectory of the rest of my career in creative technology.

That opportunity would have never been possible had I stayed where I was.

As might be expected, the dream of music didn’t happen so easily.

After recording a handful of demos singing in the closet of my Hollywood apartment (for sound proofing and neighbors’ sanity, of course) and a handful more crazy auditions, I ended up in a band and playing shows around town.

That led to recording an album with Rhys Fulber (electronic artist from Delerium, Frontline Assembly and Conjure One), which was an exciting collaboration that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t moved to the City of Angeles.

Being in a band with a professionally recorded album was a dream in itself, and as things went along, my band (Socionic, [heavy rock]) grew and we ended up playing some pretty incredible shows in LA.

Among them were headlining shows at The Whisky A GoGo and the Viper Room, and opening up as direct support several sold out shows with Volto, the side project of one of my favorite drummers (Danny Carey of TOOL).

Add a couple regional tours to that and we actually ended up getting closer to my dream than I ever expected. But as happens with bands, we didn’t quite make it far enough and things kind of fell apart.

I can honestly say though that the memories of those days are some of the best of my life.

So far…

I’ll never be done with music and art, and in this era of online opportunity, perhaps my biggest tour is still ahead of me.

The New Frontier, Now Online

Even though many of the best memories of pursuing my music dreams are from stages and studios within Los Angeles, by far the biggest success and return on effort investment has been online.

Putting the effort in to write some great songs with good production recorded in your bedroom, then backed by some online promotion, can get music into the algorithms and yield continued passive growth well into the future.

That growth can enable connections and then opportunities.

Conversely, the effort and often times money that would go into booking and promoting a single show would be comparable in effort and cost and, even though nothing can beat the feeling of being on stage and the connection made with a hundred or so people face to face, when it was over, that was it.

Then on to the next one, which you hope some industry type will be at to recognize your creative brilliance and sign your dreams into reality.

That was the way it used to be in music anyway…

But now, in this era of social media virality, a single post can connect with a million people and change your life. And that can be done from anywhere with a cell connection, which pretty soon will be just about anywhere on earth.

That’s not to say that these things are the same, I love live shows and want to get back to doing them regularly, but if your main ambition is to get your art and message out there, nothing beats the scale of the internet.

I say all this to acknowledge that where living cities like Los Angeles were essential for advancing ambitions in creativity as recent as a decade ago, these days you’ve got a better chance of doing it online.

The same goes for other forms of media as well. Hollywood is still the center of film, but if you’re a writer, director or actor and want to get the attention and clout needed to connect with anyone one here, you’ll most likely need to have an online following anyway.

And the amount of creative work you can produce with an iPhone from just about anywhere on earth is mind blowing.

With AI advancing so quickly and enabling smaller creators and their teams to do more and more, this potential is as apparent as ever.

Opportunity Cost and Imbalance

The path to dreams through cities of opportunity often involved toughing it out with expensive city rent, hustling your craft and connections, and then eventually achieving success to the point where big city cost is no longer an issue.

You “made it” and now everything is easy and happy.

But that doesn’t feel like the case anymore.

Sure, there are still one in 10 million pop singers, actors, directors and tech founders that make it to mega-stardom and wealth as part of a bigger system, but I’m talking about real, career creatives. The musician middle class, or other online creators that make a living off their art.

The growing cost of living, especially in big cities, is far more prohibitive than it has been in the past. The middle-class in general is getting pinched tighter and tighter in an economy that doesn’t lend much sympathy to moderate, let alone uncertain, income.

Sure, things will get better as cycles ebb and flow, but it feels like there there is a bigger trend happening.

The obvious reality is, as a creative you can focus more time and effort on your creativity and personal business then you don’t have to work 40+ hours a week in an unrelated job only to spend half that income on rent.

The tech indie hacker community has known this for awhile already as it pioneered digital nomadism by working from cheaper countries around the world in order to maximize time spent on building apps and business opportunities online.

There are still many creative jobs that require you to be on site and working with a team, but for smaller, more independent and entrepreneurial efforts, it is no longer a requirement. You can create from anywhere and publish it online for all the world to access.

Perhaps these sentiments are circling my head more presently at the moment due to my personal situation with rent and cost of living.

Having lived at my current place for 7 years, it remains considerably below market amidst the run-up in rent and housing that’s happened in recent years. As a result, it has become a target for appreciation as my landlord raised rent 10% previously and is almost certain to do so again in a few months, which might end up pushing me out due to affordability.

A new place at an affordable rent in the current market would mean a significant downsize and loss of my dedicated music studio room, which has long been a mark of my ‘making it’ out here.

Admittedly all that has me a little grumpy and overly reflective 😅

New Destinations

So, how do we solve both sides of the equation?

1. Reasonable cost of living allowing more freedom to create

2. Connection to opportunity and like-minded community

This is a question that frequents my mind often these days.

In the last few years a handful of my creative friends have moved out of LA for more affordable pastures. A couple of them abandoned their creative dreams completely, while others continue their journey, but now with a larger creative space and smaller rent.

Big cities are still hubs of rich, creative culture and the best places to connect with like-minded, ambitious people, but it does seem like more and more of that culture is spreading out from the biggest and most expensive of these cities such as New York, San Francisco, and LA.

How could it not?

The imbalance in affordability in premium areas is clearer than ever. When I moved here there used to be grungy musicians and venues lining the Sunset Strip, there are now luxury hotels and corporate suits.

In the end, the community and people found in a vibrant city are the real value. Community, belonging and the inspiration found in them are very immutable human traits that are best experienced in person. I definitely don’t see that ever changing.

But these things definitely aren’t tied to one location, they can manifest anywhere.

In my time here I’ve lived in Hollywood, West Hollywood and generally the cooler (read: more expensive) places of LA. Maybe the answer lies somewhere just a little farther out.

A group of my creative friends just moved from the center of the city to a creative compound farther out in the valley and they’re all stoked about the change. It is still close enough for all the culture, events and shows that the LA hotspots have to offer, but it allows for a little more space physically and breathing room financially.

As more people flee the coastal cities to smaller markets due to affordability, other cities are becoming more diverse in creative culture as well.

As technology enables creative endeavors to be more independent and detached from huge investment and corporate control thereby allowing geographic freedom and flexibility, perhaps new hubs of middle class creatives will start to spawn.

Whether on the more affordable outskirts of existing cities like LA, by expanding middle sized cities into diverse creative centers, or perhaps completely new destinations, it will be interesting to see how cities and creative communities evolve.

Closing

My move to Los Angeles was one of the biggest and best decisions of my life. It solidified my commitment to finding a path true to myself and set in motion events that created cherished relationships and experiences that have shaped who I am today.

Besides career and creative opportunity, its a beautiful city with amazing people and diverse culture, and the greater Southern California area has world class outdoor adventures within only a couple hours drive.

Given the choice again, I would without question eagerly jump in my Old Cutlass and head West.

But as is the theme of our current era, change is happening fast and the imbalance of economy is a catalyst.

Even making good money working in tech, it feels harder to survive here than it used to, and I can never seem find enough time outside my job to work on creative projects.

It makes me wonder…

Maybe the future of creativity lies beyond the borders of today’s Dream Cities.

Maybe there will be new ones.

Maybe they’ll be better…

If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them in the comments.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

HeyGen

https://heygen.com

HeyGen heralds a new era in digital expression, offering a pioneering platform that not only streamlines video production with the power of generative AI but also introduces the groundbreaking ability to clone oneself. This innovative feature allows users to create a digital avatar, unlocking endless possibilities for personal representation across social media landscapes. It's a tool that transcends traditional video creation, enabling users to craft unique, engaging content that resonates on a personal level, making every digital interaction more authentic and captivating.

My Creative Updates

Expanding on the sentiment of this article, I haven’t found as much creative time lately as I would like. I’m still making good progress on the Niche Creator app, but I’ve only spent a few hours on music in the last couple weeks, so I don’t have much to share there.

I’m always trying to be more aware and get better at time management, but its definitely a weakness. Blocking off and protecting time for passions is so important in this demanding world. I’m working on getting better. I want to, I have to.

In technology, there’s a concept known as tokens. Essentially, a token is a unique identifier assigned to an app or website that validates the identity of the resources involved to enable safe communication. In simpler terms, a token is an ID that verifies the identity of users, ensuring they are who they claim to be.

In this rapidly advancing era of artificial intelligence, there is a similar, growing need to validate content and communication between parties to ensure authenticity and identity.

Election Deception

Recently, in the news, a story went around about an AI robo-caller impersonating President Biden and encouraging voters to stay home and not vote in the New Hampshire primaries. The intent of the deception was to affect election results by influencing the quantity and type of voter that participated in the primary elections. Its convincing nature prompted the FCC to enact new regulations against artificially created voice calls.

We’ve already started to see the power of AI video and and its increasingly convincing nature. Open AI just released their video model Sora demonstrating impressive results, and other apps like HeyGen and D-ID are becoming incredibly effective at realistically mimicking human-like avatars.

Voice emulation technologies like Eleven Labs have already reached a level that is indecipherable to the average ear.

We’re still months away from the US election and AI continues to evolve exponentially. One can see how much these new capabilities, used negatively, could affect the results and sentiment around an already divided Western culture.

As controversial as the last two US elections have been, add in incendiary AI deception to the next and political unrest and societal imbalance are almost certainly to reach new levels.

AI Media Takeover

The aforementioned OpenAI Soma, RunwayML, HeyGen and a bunch of other video technology companies have demonstrated impressive advancements in the last eighteen months. They’ve demonstrated the ability to create life-like human imagery with simple text prompts, images, and reference videos.

HeyGen’s avatar creation technology is one in particular that enables a user to upload their likeness with a handful of video clips and recordings and then generate an avatar of themselves that appears mostly indecipherable from a real phone recording posted to social media.

StableAudio, Google Lyria, and a handful of other music generation companies are able to create more and more impressive music directly from the machine that, in certain genres, is already rivaling the output of human producers.

ChatGPT and all the other LLMs that keep popping up in its wake are getting better and better at writing inspiring, human-like stories and prose.

All these advancements promise to create exciting new experiences and opportunities that will enhance our society and our collective interactions within it.

The more functional aspects of generative AI will allow for interactivity and immersive experience in media to be completely individual and unique.

As always, I maintain that AI will serve as a great tool for those with a vision and the willingness to employ new techniques, but as our society and economy has proven time time again, there will be exploitation.

And certainly there will be an over-saturation of uninspired expression made possible by the lowered barrier of entry to creativity made possible by AI.

The Human Art Connection

There is one major element that will always be absent from art and content solely created with AI:

Humanity.

We can acknowledge that AI will be able to make great commercial background music and interactive, adaptive gaming music. Corporate training videos will be created in droves without any human interaction.

But the best of art, the kind that elicits the deepest and most timely connections, comes from the soul of humanity.

Recall your favorite musical artists and favorite actors from movies, or take a look at some of the success stories of today.

A great example from music is Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour is smashing records never before even considered by the music industry.

Said with the kindest of critique, I would argue that the reason Taylor’s brand is so massive is not due to the brilliance of her actual music, which, perhaps AI at some point could replicate, it is due to her story. Because of her humanity.

Especially in the demographics that she inspires, the stories that she tells mean so much to the fans that hear them as they relate and resonate with the humanity behind them.

To feel heard and seen through shared stories by someone you admire who has gone through the same thing, and felt the same way, is incredibly comforting and validating.

That sentiment is at the core of art and its power over humans. Would they feel the same way if they knew that she wasn’t a human. If she wasn’t made of flesh and blood and expansive emotion as they are?

I argue strongly that they would not.

In my growing love affair with music when I was younger, I resonated so deeply with the sentiment of the artists writing the lyrics and music.

Musicians and lyricists like Chris Cornell, Seal, and Maynard James Keenan (three of my favorite singers, diverse I know, but all brilliant), pouring out their soul and struggle from the dark side of finding identity in this sometimes droll and vapid world.

As an angry youth, I found so much power and encouragement knowing that I wasn’t alone. Knowing that other people whom I admired, were going through the same struggles while fighting to find their way.

Had I found out they weren’t human, I would not only have felt great betrayal and disappointment, I would have been outraged. It would not have had the same effect, and I truly believe it would never have resonated so deeply in the first place, because humans and our complex souls and emotions are constantly evolving with society and our own archetypal identities. And that’s not something easily replicated by pattern analysis.

Human Verification Tokens

I truly believe that these two concepts will forever hold true as the future unfolds:

1. AI will continue to evolve and become increasingly impressive in what it is able to create

2. Humans will always and forever resonate most deeply with art and connection from other humans

As AI technology continues to exponentially grow and blow our minds with its capabilities, there will be a growing need and desire to know where the source of media and content is coming from.

A way to know whether it originated from the heart and mind of a living human, or whether it was generated from the patterns of 1 trillion instances of history by an algorithm.

As the US election grows near, I think this concept will become incredibly apparent as political figures deliver messages to the masses that will affect the decisions of our political future.

To maintain trust and confidence, we will need systems that ensure the validity of the people delivering these messages.

Within the realm of art, we will want to know if a human is who were resonating with or whether it’s just an idea manifested from a corporation designed to extract profit from our aching human souls.

Humans (myself very much included) do not take kindly to deception.

And the world, already rife with it, will only become more challenging in this arena.

Returning to the token analogy in the opening of this entry, I believe we will soon have something like human verified tokens that identifies our communication and content as uniquely our own.

Newer technologies like the blockchain can ensure a decentralized, unique identity, devoid of government, or big tech corruption, that could help serve this purpose.

Regardless of the actual execution, the ability to confidently know who is behind the messages that move our souls is becoming imperative.

A Future Unfolding

I’m a big proponent of technology, and I am extremely excited about what the near future will bring.

Additionally, I’m a huge fan and a dedicated evangelist of art and believe that our humanity is its essence.

I also believe that our corporate and political landscapes have devolved into dangerous levels of deception and personal greed even before powerful technology came along to further the possibility of exploitation.

As we embrace new capabilities and experiences, maintaining a focus on balance and authenticity will be crucial.

New technologies require new systems to maintain balance, and we are entering an era where authenticity is essential to guard against deception.

Whether it’s human verification tokens or some other technology, we want and need to know who or what it is we are connecting with.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

OpenAI Sora

https://openai.com/sora

Mentioned earlier in the article, this past week OpenAI released a new video model called Sora and the results are mind blowing. Their demo page in the link above can best show the level of realism that AI is capable of creating with video. Check out the demos and take a look for yourself.

We are definitely entering a new era of possibility and advancements keep coming.

The new model is not yet released to the public but will most likely be available in the coming months.

My Creative Updates

I continue to decompress from the intense client project that I had in January and am working balance back into my routine. It feels good. I’m continuing work on the Niche Creator app as well as working on some cool content ideas with Jake there.

Our Creative Archetype quiz has been doing well, if you haven’t taken it yet, you can check it out here:

https://nichecreator.ai/creative-archetype-quiz

I’m slowing finding my way back to working on a little music, which has felt amazing. I did a quick vocal track in the style of kind of a zombie horror score with my TikTok friend Gabriel which I hope to share in near future. And I’ve been working on an acoustic set of new originals and covers that I hope to play out with one day this year. Or maybe even online at some point 😃

It reminds me how important it is to maintain the balance of keeping time and space for the people and activities that resonate deeply within us. I am determined not to forget that.

This past month has found me in the grinder.

Maxed out in my time and energy, I sense my mind locking up and my focus splintering into a thousand pieces.

Pressure and obligation bear down as deadlines and the looming threat of failure occupies an ever growing space in my present reality.

Thoughts of creative progress, once uplifting, now shrivel and die at the feet of imminent urgency.

My otherwise curious and receptive spirit shuns serendipity to meet the need of necessity.

Something that was once so personally mine, has been claimed in entirety by others.

Exhausted, I exist now as only a husk of my full Self.

We Overload Ourselves

I may be poeticizing my current state a bit, but in the moment the feeling is very real.

I’m currently working on a client project tied to the Super Bowl that is extremely high pressure with a very aggressive and unmovable deadline. (I asked for more time but they wouldn’t push back the big game 😆)

It’s a super cool project with an extremely talented team, but to keep up with this challenging project takes all the energy and focus that I can muster. Which leaves nothing left of me for anything else.

No creativity. No new experiences. No new conversations. No new thoughts.

I’m sure we’ve all been there. Necessities and commitments of work and life fill up our time and energy to a point at which we can no longer let anything else in.

Nothing else but the energy and focus required to get us through the current challenges and meet the obligations set upon us.

Overcommitted

It's easy to romanticize our struggles, yet the reality remains that overcommitment is a common pitfall. I've often found myself in this trap, underestimating the effort required for my goals.

Be it ambition, addiction to productivity, or just innocent, wishful thinking on the amount of new experiences and knowledge that we can fit into this fast moving life, the result is the same – overwhelming stress.

And in defense of us overachievers and “workaholics,“ our current societal landscape, with its emphasis on capitalist competition, doesn’t make seeking balance any simpler.

Value Greater than Money

Constantly straddling the line between ambition and keeping up with societal survival can blur the true value of creativity. This shift in perspective moves us from incessant productivity to embracing the joy of exploration and creation, revealing that fulfillment surpasses material success, and opens up a realm of rich experiences that nourish our true selves, independent of traditional success metrics.

Deep down, I hold a firm belief in the value of discovery and creativity that exists beyond monetary gain, although sometimes I’m in need of reminding.

Reflecting on history's greatest artists like Vincent van Gogh, Emily Dickinson and Henry David Thoreau; their work transcended immediate financial success and instead, left a lasting impact across generations. Their ideas, expressions and new ways of thinking have served to forever change the world beyond them. I’m sure very few are aware of their monetary holdings or which car or carriage was parked in their driveway.

For the longest time I wanted so desperately to find a way to make money off my passions, so that I could spend the most time exploring them. But since, I’ve realized that true discovery, creativity, and economy don’t always align. You end up chasing trends and the whims of the common denominator, and in the process betraying your true, authentic Self.

It feels like much of art and creativity has fallen victim to this mindset in the last decade or so. With the rise of online virality and consolidation of power in mainstream film and music leading to the homogenization of mainstream art, the pursuit of money and fame have more and more become the goal of our collective creative endeavors. And as a result, we’ve all suffered from it, both in lack of depth in expressions and the hollowness of exploration without creative submission.

I’m digressing here a bit, but the point is that we need to allow proper time and space to expand and create an environment of revelation without the suffocating presence of stress and monetary factors detracting from the true essence of honest and vulnerable exploration.

It’s a sacrifice in the short term, but I maintain that is it worth it.

Space to Expand

How often have you been working on a creative project and after a period of time decided you need a break so you went for a walk? And then on that break, after previously sitting stuck for hours, you’re suddenly overflowed with ideas?

Personally, it happens to me almost every time.

Add nature and that experience expands exponentially.

I’ve never had my best ideas at the desk, it’s always been on a walk or a hike, or somewhere out in a crowd. So often I’ve struggled in the confines of my office or studio for hours and hours for a solution or an idea, only to have it finally come to me shortly after breaking for a walk.

Equally if not more-so, how many times have you gone on a vacation and come back just on fire with inspiration for new ideas and projects?

Every time for me.

Yet knowing this, I often find myself in the diminishing cycle of working harder and harder to push through a task while just wasting time with half the focus and energy that I would have if I had taken time to recover.

Maybe it is a cultural thing born from our competitive society and work culture that makes us think that suffering through something is the best way to accomplish it. Time and time again though, I’m reminded that seeking balance and space for serendipity is by far the most effective approach.

Serendipity in Opportunity

Another advantage of protecting space in life comes in the form of finding opportunity.

This is one I’m extremely guilty of because I’m constantly trying to fill my hours with productivity, often sacrificing going outside of my normal routine to connect with people.

Being an introvert doesn’t help, but that’s not a good excuse.

Allowing yourself the space and energy to get involved with community can reveal new opportunities in the form of collaborations and ideas found from needs within various groups of people.

Our entire world is people. All of creative connection, inspiration and opportunity comes from the interconnection and balance of needs within our society.

So without seeking connection and taking action to be aware of what those opportunities and needs out there are, we will always be out of touch with the greater picture.

Conclusion on Balance and Presence

Difficult and exhaustive challenges can often give us a chance to reflect. We are broken down and rebuilt with the opportunity to review what does and does not work for us.

As much as I do love a challenge and revel in the pride and accomplishment of a job well done, I’m also aware of the cost.

This current stint has manifested negative repercussions in physical health and poor sleep. It’s easy to cite the mantras, “toughen up” or “you’ve got this” to push further and further, but for what cost and to what end? Especially if your deadlines and work are been decided by others, with the resulting excess product of your blood and sweat going to benefit companies and endeavors in which you have limited or no say.

For most of my adult life I’ve struggled with balance. I’ve always been a hard worker willing to accept tough challenges at work while also intensely craving space for creativity and curiosity.

That balance is something I still strive to achieve and I’m more inspired now than ever to find it.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

The Creative Archetype Quiz

https://www.nichecreator.ai/creative-archetype-quiz

This edition’s mention is a bit tech, a bit creative, and a whole lot of personal insight. In collaboration with , we built a quiz geared toward multipotentialite, creative people that helps identify their creative archetypes. Based on your archetype, there are strategies and approaches that provide insight into how best to navigate your ideal creative path.

It’s an easy to take quiz, and for the effort you’ll get a jam packed PDF of insight into your creative archetype.

Give it a try and let me know if it resonates with you!!

My Creative Updates

As can probably be surmised from this article, I haven’t had much time for creative work. I still have a handful of songs that I’m excited about finishing, but they’re currently sitting on my hard-drive collecting digital dust until I can recover my energy and ambition.

I have however, been continuing work collaborating on the Niche Creator app and the above quiz that I mentioned, which I’m really excited about.

I’m greatly looking forward to returning to balance in the coming weeks and getting back to fulfilling all the different sides of my complicated creative being.

For over a year now, we've had access to the power of ChatGPT. Its ability to process vast amounts of data and answer virtually any question has revolutionized information access and personal education.

But in that immense breadth of possibility and power lies the challenge.

What do we ask?

And how do we do so in the best way to get the answers that we want?

With great power comes great responsibility

I’m sure we’ve all spent hours asking ChatGPT or other capable large language models (LLMs) various kinds of burning questions like:

• What is the meaning of life?

• How does a black hole work?

• How do I make $1 billion dollars?

• What is the best way to ask out someone I like?

• Tell me 10 jokes about programming.

Etc. etc… The knowledge and entertainment is endless.

But what if we want to dive deep into the abstract concepts of topics that we don’t fully understand?

Topics that extend beyond the scope and context of a single question or small string of questions. How do we know the best follow-up question or the fifth question after we’ve extended into a topic where we no longer understand the context?

Or what if it is an ephemeral curiosity about ourselves that we can barely articulate within our own mind, let alone ask directed questions about? Topics of personal growth and purpose, inherently human abstractions, that take outside perspective and direction from other humans to effectively unearth.

Also, how do we know the right WAY to ask it?

ChatGPT and its ilk can often be very nuanced in its context and structure.

There’s a reason why the term “prompt engineer” has become a trending topic over the last year: It’s not super obvious how to communicate with these new AI harbingers of informational power and it takes skill and knowledge to get the best answers out of them.

Guided AI

Some of my most significant revelations into how to use ChatGPT have come when I discovered a new ‘prompt template’– a predefined format that guides the AI to provide more accurate and relevant responses. For example, using a template designed for Twitter (X) that includes examples of well written and engaging tweets yields better output when generating new posts.

AI responds very well when you provide detailed context and well formatted examples. This goes for actual text format as well as more abstract structures, like visual artist or writer style (the ethics and legality of which regarding training are a topic for a different discussion).

After discovering a new prompt format and context structure, my prompting productivity increases exponentially. Experimenting with prompting can be time consuming, so I often find new ideas by following people who have a deeper knowledge of the specific topic and context about which I’m researching. Image prompting or prompting for social media ideas for example.

In a sense, I leverage the knowledge of more experienced people within a certain field to help me guide AI toward the results that I want. But the curation of that guidance is still up to me.

Taking the concept beyond a simple prompt or two: guided direction over a series of prompts, with the addition of personalized input, creates even more targeted power to unlock detailed knowledge of a given topic.

Within these concepts I believe lies the next era of advancement in AI: Enhanced knowledge and education through guided interaction and personalized context.

A directed approach of how to use ChatGPT and other AI enhanced tools, within a topic, by niche experts to show us exactly how to get to the destination that we desire.

Curriculum, if you will, created by experts to guide us through hyper personalized coursework toward a higher level of education and achievement.

Hyper-Personalized Education VS The University Machine

On the topic of education, it is worth noting how the current educational systems and frameworks work in our society.

The massive educational system and economy that exists today is largely based on a generalist and theoretical approach. The same coursework is taught for thousands of different students, all of varying personality, skill, and passion for a given topic.

After years of introductory courses, you then “specialize” by choosing a major, which is ultimately coursework within a more targeted topic. Yet that same material is still taught across hundreds and hundreds of students.

Additionally, the coursework and material taught often lags behind the progression of industry significantly. In this era of rapid advancement due to technology, that can have a big impact on the value of a degree as it relates to the job market.

Personally, almost all of the information I learned in my degree (bachelors of computer science) was of a more theoretical nature, which didn’t provide me with the tangible skills immediately needed in the job market. Most of the advantage or edge I’ve gotten since has been from the pursuit of personal curiosity and passion around more niche topics within software and digital media.

Not to downplay the value of theory and diversity in a general college education, but there is definitely a disconnect, especially in today’s hyper competitive job market.

Lastly, the cost of traditional education has inflated to astronomical levels, further crippling recent classes in their ability to compete in our capitalist markets.

Relevant to its value and efficacy, the cost of higher education is becoming difficult to justify. And it’s hard not to consider capitalistic motivations on the side of the universities as part of the issue.

It is important today to get a degree to indicate to employers that you have the the skill and work ethic to contribute to a role, but discussion around the system and its balance of cost vs value is extremely valid.

Niche Creator

With the power and growing capability of AI, I truly believe that we will soon start to see a revolution building in the realm of education.

It has already become commonplace to find specialized education offerings from niche experts across the internet on video sites like YouTube, and other smaller platforms. With the addition of AI, niche educators will be able to offer hyper-personalized curriculum and education tailored to a class of one, delivering an extreme amount of personal value.

Venturing into the realm of AI education myself, I've recently embarked on an exciting project: the development of an educational app that is designed to cater specifically to a unique community.

In collaboration with , we are developing this AI-driven tool to assist multipotentialites in uncovering and pursuing their diverse skills and passions.

I’ve known Jake @ for several years now and he is a wizard in the realm of breaking through personal blocks and unlocking creative potential.

We’re calling the app Niche Creator and are hoping to release it sometime in the next few months.

It feels really good to be building something that I’m passionate about and getting to explore the latest in AI technology while doing so. Not to mention doing it with an incredibly inspiring person who shares the same values of authenticity and personal growth.

Much is still in flux, but I’m stoked about the project and will share highlights about my indie hacking journey in the “My Creative Updates” section below as I go.

I’m also attempting to “build in public” a bit on X (Twitter), so if you want to follow for a more detailed account of my technical journey, you can follow me there.

https://twitter.com/michaelmeinhart

The future of AI in education is promising and shows a ton of potential. I’m really excited to be working on something in that space.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

The GPT Store

https://openai.com/blog/introducing-the-gpt-store

Several months in the making after drama that included the firing and re-hiring of their CEO, Sam Altman, OpenAI has officially launched their GPT store.

(GPTs [Generative Pre-trained Transformers] are advanced AI models designed to understand and generate human-like text, enabling a wide range of language-based applications)

Similar to Apple’s App Store, the GPT Store is a marketplace where developers (both the code or no-code kind) can offer their custom created GPTs to users.

Within two months of introducing GPTs, over 3 million versions have been developed. The store, currently in an early stage, is open to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users. It features diverse GPTs in categories like DALL·E, writing, and research. Notable GPTs include AllTrails for personalized trail suggestions and Consensus for academic research assistance.

A forthcoming revenue program promises earnings for developers based on GPT user engagement. This initiative represents a significant move in making AI tools widely accessible.

My Creative Updates

Niche Creator App

As I mentioned above, I’ve been hard at work building the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) for the Niche Creator app for the last couple months, which has been my main free time focus. I’m using some new technologies like AI via OpenAI’s ChatGPT api as well as a new database backend via Supabase which has been fun to explore.

I believe it is a strength of mine to be working toward creative ideas using technology, so I’m exciting to be working on a project like this.

Cool Client Work

It’s definitely the time for tech in my world as my day time hours are dedicated to a cool app that I’m working on with a great agency here in LA. The project will be part of a Super Bowl campaign coming up that will coincide with a commercial airing around the event. It’s another create / tech project, which I love, and I’m working with extremely talented people. The big game is coming up quick though, so crunch time is upon me 😅

Music

I still have an EP’s worth of songs written for my solo project in the singer-songwriter / rock vein that I am itching to record, produce and finish. Client work and timely opportunity with Niche Creator have me focused mostly on software building for now, but in another month or so I’m looking to attack and finish some music 🤘.

We've come to the end of another dynamic and transitional year, one of the most significant in recent history.

Ten years from now we will look back and view 2023 as the year that Artificial Intelligence went mainstream and kicked off an avalanche of technological progress that forever changed society.

With momentum building and Moore’s Law proving as true as ever, here are 5 predictions on what AI will have in store for 2024.

1. AI Video Gets Featured

AI video made significant strides in 2023, transitioning from a novel concept to a powerful tool for creating compelling imagery, thanks to the release of innovative platforms like Runway Gen2, Pika 1.0, and Stable Video.

The capabilities of text-to-video and image transformation tools continue to rapidly evolve, indicating a transformative future for media creation.

In the next year, we will see the first significant feature length film produced with AI assistance, a feat made feasible by the efficiency and affordability of these tools.

This democratization of film production will empower smaller teams and budgets to explore new narratives and styles, especially in niche areas currently overlooked due to mainstream commercial constraints.

Moreover, independent creators on platforms like YouTube and TikTok are set to become influential figures in long-form visual storytelling, capitalizing on their vast, youthful audiences.

2. AI Music Finds Its Stage

So far, AI music has been a bit novel in its existence and awareness within the mainstream. Google, Facebook and Stability AI all released capable models that can generate fairly impressive music and audio via text-to-audio prompting, but so far they have mostly served as lo-fi demonstrations of greater potential.

There have been a few viral moments already with the likes of Ghostwriter’s “Fake Drake” song, "Heart on My Sleeve”, that used an AI generated copy of Drake’s voice to go viral and garner millions of streams before being taken down by streaming services due to legal injunction from the labels.

But ultimately, the main use of AI in this (and other viral songs so far) has been in cloning the voice of an already famous singer or rapper and using that in a human produced song. The virality of which largely coming from piggybacking off the existing fame and following of the artist being mimicked, not the ability of AI to enhance songwriting or production.

Certainly we will see more of this type of viral AI music, but in the next year we will start to see more AI tools that enhance the music production and songwriting process itself, greatly expanding the capabilities of talented producers and songwriters.

Integrated AI tools within the digital audio workstation will help extend song sections, provide alternate versions of bridge chords, and audition contextually aware midi drum fills right within a track.

Generative synth presets manifested from text description will help to create new and never before heard soundscapes and textures. Expressive sound generations that extend the current limitations of midi input will allow performances to flow into new dimensions.

Some of these things might be realized a little later on, but I believe we will start to see their genesis very soon.

Additionally, we will begin to see AI generated functional music find more use in markets such as interactive gaming where audio adapts fluidly to the tone and context of the gameplay.

Where AI video was a year ago, AI music is today, and soon we will start to see some breakthrough new capabilities and use cases.

3. AI Copyright Law Gets Serious

As generative AI continues to proliferate into the mainstream, more and more questions are being raised regarding the usage of copyright material used to train AI models.

From the ability to replicate the art styles of famous painters and digital artists, to parroting the songwriting style of the Beatles, to using cloned vocals in derivative works, new questions about copyright and intellectual property are being revealed daily.

These emerging copyright concerns are reshaping the media and intellectual property landscape, making existing laws increasingly obsolete.

Recently, significant copyright lawsuits have started to surface, aiming to directly address the use of copyrighted works in AI training datasets, reflecting the growing legal complexities in this evolving field. A few of them include:

1. NY Times vs. OpenAI & Microsoft: The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for using its content to train AI without permission, challenging the "fair use" defense in AI training.

2. Visual Artists vs. AI Companies: Artists sued Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt, claiming unauthorized use of copyrighted images in AI training, underscoring the tension between AI innovation and intellectual property rights.

3. Authors vs. Meta, Microsoft, Bloomberg: Writers, including Mike Huckabee, filed a lawsuit against Meta, Microsoft, and Bloomberg for training AI systems using their copyrighted works, focusing on the illegal "Books3" dataset.

In the next year we will see more lawsuits filed and legislation discussed as the conversations and capabilities around these new questions expand.

4. AI Education Unveils Its Potential

As the power of Large Language Models grows, AI education is set to revolutionize the learning landscape, offering a hyper-personalized alternative to traditional university models.

At its core, AI's ability to craft customized learning paths tailored to individual strengths and learning styles marks a significant departure from the one-size-fits-all approach of conventional education. This shift will not only maximize learning efficiency but also align with the unique aspirations and abilities of each learner.

Learning apps are already starting to use AI augmentations with examples like Duolingo Max, which uses OpenAI’s GPT-4, offering hyper-personalized language lessons and accessible English proficiency testing at a fraction of the cost of a college language course.

In 2024 we will continue to see more expansion of hyper-personalized education that delivers specialized learning to underserved niches.

Education experts in a given field will use specifically trained AI models to guide learning toward relevant career paths based on personal skills and passions, and in turn provide more value for less investment.

Soon we will see more AI-driven educational platforms breaking down geographical and financial barriers, democratizing education for a wider audience. These platforms will provide continuously updated content and real-time feedback, keeping learners at the forefront of their fields and enabling instant adjustments for an enhanced learning experience.

5. Deepfake Danger In Politics

As the 2024 US elections draw near, the escalating threat of deepfakes poses a dire risk to the political landscape, potentially intensifying divisions and conflict among citizens.

Deepfakes, which are sophisticated AI-generated likenesses of known figure such as presidents and celebrities, blur the line between reality and falsehood, making it increasingly challenging for voters to discern truth.

Imagine hyper-realistic yet entirely fictitious videos or audio of political figures, spread across social media, sowing confusion and distrust.

In an era already rife with misinformation, deepfakes will exacerbate societal divisions, manipulate public opinion and potentially influencing electoral outcomes. They hold the power to create false narratives, incite scandals, and even provoke civil unrest.

In an already fragile balance of populous unity within Western countries like the US, further division could be deeply damaging.

Addressing this threat demands robust verification tools and enhanced digital literacy throughout the populous. The fight against misinformation is critical to preserving democratic integrity and maintaining trust in both media and the the electoral system. It's a battle not just of technology but of safeguarding the truth itself in the political discourse.

Closing

2023 brought AI to the global public stage and 2024 promises its vast expansion into our culture and economy. The upcoming year will bring not only technological breakthroughs, but also a deeper integration of AI in our daily lives, further reshaping the way we interact with the world around us.

With AI set to play a bigger role in our lives, I'm excited to journey with you into a year where technology meets everyday magic.

Happy New Year 🥳

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

Eleven Labs

https://elevenlabs.io/

Eleven Labs presents a groundbreaking approach to AI-driven text-to-voice technology. This platform stands at the forefront of synthetic voice generation, offering remarkably lifelike and natural-sounding voices from text inputs. Ideal for a variety of applications ranging from podcasting to voiceovers, Eleven Labs excels in capturing the nuances of human speech, offering customization to fit diverse needs. With its user-friendly interface, it simplifies the process of creating authentic and engaging audio content, making it a valuable asset for professionals and enthusiasts alike in the digital media landscape.

My Creative Updates

In between overindulging on Christmas cookies and holiday leftovers, I’ve been hard at work building a prototype for a new app that will be releasing in the first quarter of 2024. I’ve partnered with an inspiring writer, creator and coach on the endeavor which involves using AI to help identify niche opportunities based your personal strengths and passions.

We’ll be announcing a lot more in the new year, but in the mean time I’m heads down connecting code for a cool new project 😃

It’s been over a year since ChatGPT was released to the public, triggering an avalanche of AI innovation and potential.

It’s been even longer since the first iteration of text-to-image favorite, MidJourney, entered the market. In its time, advancement of quality and accuracy have improved drastically, going from novel, artifact riddled, robotic images to legitimately awe inspiring creations.

These rapid advances in text and image generation have already changed how people create and do business.

AI Video

With the recent release of several new models by leading companies like Stable Video from Stability AI, Pika 1.0, and RunwayML, AI video is now poised to be the next area of innovation.

Currently, there are a few different methods with which to create AI video, each offering different strengths and applications.

Here is an outline of the different methods with some example experiments:

Text To Video

Text to video is the easiest way to generate AI video and the technique that most people are probably familiar with due to it’s prevalence in the AI image space.

It’s as simple as describing an image with as much detail as possible with text, and then sending it to the model through a user interface for generation.

As with all AI prompting, there are techniques and structures of how to best describe what you want to the system, which can be a bit of an art form in itself.

Generally the more descriptive the better.

Usage and Application

In it’s current state, text-to-video generation works really well for scene ideation and brainstorming as well as b-roll and background videos that don’t require too much detail.

As you can see, the images aren’t always accurate, but so far I am just experimenting and haven’t spent the time to fully refine some of these prompts.

My Examples

Here is an example that I made of a Dinosaur Fighter using the following prompt:

prompt (runwayML): a muscular shirtless human man standing still face to face with a carnivorous dinosaur. They are standing away from each other about 50 yards apart on a open field of dirt and rock. Mid day sun brightly shining behind them as dust floats up from the ground. Side camera view. 8k uhd, dslr, high quality, film grain, Fujifilm XT3

It’s not quite a T-Rex, but its an intimidating dinosaur-like creature and captures the drama of the scene.

And here’s another one of a prog metal guitarist shredding arpeggios in 27/8 time on stage made with Pika. This model, and many others up to this point, still can’t get hands and fingers right 🤙😆.

prompt (pika): a mid distance shot of a young metal guitarist playing a guitar solo on stage at a large festival with a crowd in front of the stage and stage lights beaming down

Try It Yourself

Below is a hosted model on replicate.com where you can see the usage of the text-to-video technique using the AnimateDiff extension for Stable Diffusion. This extension for the popular image generation model even has different camera movement parameters that you can use to further control the scene.

Replace the current prompt text and click “Run” at the bottom to try it yourself.

https://replicate.com/zsxkib/animate-diff?prediction=q6l4fjlbjb4teeuupiinnfmncu

Image To Video

Image-to-video generation is just that, converting an image to a video. You input an image to the model and then it reads the contents of the image from style, to form, to characters, and uses that data to inform and calculate movement.

Video is only a sequence of images at its core, so the model takes the context of the initial image and generates a sequence of next images that might make sense based on the input.

Usage and Application

This type of video creation is pretty novel at the moment and tends to lose accuracy the longer the video generation is, but it is definitely impressive to see static images come to life!

Image-to-video generation is great for social media content and ideation like live mood boards or storyboard videos to convey feel and aesthetic for final production in music videos or film.

A great workflow for ideation and storyboarding is prompting images in MidJourney or DALLE•3 then bringing them to life with an image-to-video model like Gen2 from RunwayML, Pika, or Stable Video.

My Examples

Here’s an example from an image of myself I created for a previous article (linked below) using a trained LoRA and Stable Diffusion. I took the generated image and ran it through Stable Video to bring it to life (double AI generation)!

And here’s another example of an image that I created in MidJourney for another post brought to life with RunwayML Gen2.

Lastly, here’s a stand off between an AI Muscle Michael and a T-Rex. This is completely generated from the image with no extra prompt using Pika. It is particularly impressive that the model derived the context of the image enough to make me turn my head and look at the T-Rex!!

Try It Yourself

Below is a link to an image-to-video model that uses the new Stable Video Diffusion. Replace the input image and click run to see your image come to life. (default parameters work well, but feel free to tweak for different results)

https://replicate.com/stability-ai/stable-video-diffusion

Video To Video

Video-to-video generation is where you input an existing video and alter its appearance with AI by changing its style, or various aspects of the original video.

This technique is more advanced as you will need quality source video in order to produce the best results. In that lies flexibility and power though, so I view this method as having a ton of potential and contributing to the most practical impact in the near future.

Usage and Application

With this approach, you can still direct a basic scene, using either a traditional approach with a physical camera or a virtual approach with a 3D engine (such as Unity, Unreal Engine or Blender).

In creating the source video you can have complete control over characters and camera, but not have to worry as much about the style of the shot, such as background, wardrobe and even lighting. Then with AI generation, you can later transform character, setting and style into anything by processing the basic shot.

The best way to demonstrate what I mean is in the examples below.

I’m still learning techniques, so my examples aren’t too impressive, but a little farther down, you can see some impressive professional examples to better understand the potential of this technique.

My Examples

In this first example, I downloaded a pre-made, 3D animated character rig from Mixamo and imported it into the Unity game engine where added a simple camera animation.

From there, I exported the basic video and ran it through Gen1 in RunwayML with an input image reference directing the style. (a prompt for style is also an option instead of reference image)

I believe this kind of approach will be immensely powerful for creating highly stylized renders for music videos and films as it continues to improve. I’m exited to continue to play around with and improve this technique for more videos in the future.

Input Image:

Here’s another older video that I did earlier this year using stock footage as the original video, and then transforming the style a bit with Warpfusion. Not quite as impressive, but you can see how it might be useful to alter the style of existing videos.

Try It Yourself?

As mentioned above, this technique is bit more complicated to dive into, but you can grab video from a stock footage site and try running it through RunwayML Gen1 to transform it.

Better Examples from Pro Creators

My examples are a bit crude for now as I was mostly experimenting and didn’t spend a ton of time tweaking prompts and parameters. AI moves exponentially though, so quality and ease of use will catch up quickly based on current capabilities, and as a result, use cases will become more relevant and realistic.

Here are some really impressive examples of AI video made by professional creators using existing models.

Text-to-Video: Sci-Fi trailer

This entire video is made from text-to-video prompted clips in Pika, and then edited together with music.

Image-To-Video: Various Examples

Here is a video containing various impressive image-to-video results from RunwayML Gen2.

Video-to-video: AniMatrix

This user, MrBoofy, converted an actual scene from The Matrix movie into an Anime version using AnimatedDiff on Stable Diffusion.

AI Video Predictions

The first versions of AI generated video have been pretty rough with a jerky, stutter-like style that most of the internet can recognize by now. Because of the ease of accessibility, it feels like generative AI fatigue has started to set in a bit as more and more content of that style is shared and it’s novelty wears off.

It is my belief that as these tools continue to improve, and new techniques are discovered, we will see better and better quality content created by talented creators and storytellers.

The novelty aspect of “look I entered text and created this!” will fade, and the essence of talent in storytelling and creativity will re-emerge.

In the future I can see creators of all types more easily creating video to accompany their artist story and expression. Think anything from TikTok music videos created by musical artists to Etsy creators featuring physical creations in AI generated story videos, to short films accompanying a podcast or blog story.

There will be a big wave of independent film creators consisting of small teams that will begin to rival bigger studios who have become more and more focused on profit and commercialism than expanding storytelling and art.

There are boundless applications in the commercial space as well. From commercials to product demos, the broader applications of generative AI video are set to revolutionize industries.

Ultimately generative AI is a tool that enhances process and provides new avenues to explore the core of human creativity and storytelling. It will provide independent creators with the ability to explore new limits of innovation without the restrictions of large budgets and studio backing.

And as a result, they will provide audiences with exciting stories and worlds that they have yet to see.

The Strength of Human Creativity

One last mention to touch on a recurring theme within the topic of AI generated content and art: I do strongly believe that the essence of art and expression is very human in nature, and when it comes to artistic connection, nothing can replace the human heart and mind.

More functional and less creative applications and industries will likely be more affected by the emergence of AI, but true creativity is, at its core, a very human trait.

As I mentioned earlier, AI in general is a tool that will serve to augment the vision and and ambition of those who have an idea and the ability to harness this evolving technical power.

As time goes on, novelty will fade and true art will shine through, as it always has.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

The AI Video Creation Tools from This Post

I used the amazing tools below for the experiments in this post. They are all in various states of release, with some like RunwayML having an easy to use UI, and others like Stable Video, Stable Diffusion and Warpfusion requiring technical setup to use.

All of these projects are actively iterating new versions that will become easier and easier to use while producing better and better results.

2024 is looking like a big year for AI video, lead by these exciting projects.

RunwayML - https://runwayml.com/
Pika - https://pika.art/
Stable Video - https://stability.ai/stable-video
Warpfusion - https://github.com/Sxela/WarpFusion
AnimatedDiff / Stable Diffusion - https://animatediff.github.io/

My Creative Updates

With the holidays and work on an exciting new AI project that I’ll be announcing soon, my music progress have been a little slow of late. I’m planning on picking up work on the EP again in the new year though, and will share updates as they come.

Here in the US we are fully immersed in the holiday season. With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us, pumpkin spice converts to Christmas music in the blink of an eye.

With the holiday season arrives a sentiment of community, giving and caring that is noticeably felt in contrast to the rest of the year. Yes, the commercialism is out of control, and yes, occasionally the stress from the hustle of finishing projects before a holiday break can eat into the anticipation and joy of the holiday spirit, but the sentiment is still felt and I am appreciative of it.

Living in Los Angeles, you quickly find that most of the people who live here aren’t from here. And with the proximity of Thanksgiving and Christmas, most transplants trying to make their dreams happen here aren’t able to travel back to Iowa, or Minnesota or Michigan for both holidays. Especially when rent for their two bedroom apartment is over $4000 a month.

As a result, adopted families of friends become a big part of the holiday culture for those who remain in the city for any part of the season. Nothing beats holidays with family, if you are lucky enough to have them and have a close relationship with them (as I thankfully do), but absent that option, the season also provides opportunity to cultivate and appreciate deeper connections with our chosen families.

Being from Michigan, I count myself among the masses of transplants that consider LA their adopted homes. And with often staying here for Thanksgiving, opting to travel to see family for the longer break of Christmas, the Friendsgiving tradition has been a big part of my experience out here.

Frankly, this time of year is something I look forward to in the megalopolis of Los Angeles. It slows down just enough to get a glimpse into the softer side of this otherwise gruelingly, competitive and hustle worn city.

LA is also a bit of a transient city, with people arriving and leaving more often than others for a myriad of reasons. As I reflect on that, I consider myself extremely grateful to have always had active friend circles with which to experience the holidays.

I’ve certainly had my share of close friends come and go, for various reasons, but I am thankful to have always had a good circle of friends in my time out here. Even if some of the faces change. That is the nature of life after all, not just that of the big city.

Friendsgiving 2023

Holiday plans for me this year are no different than most, staying in LA and booking a flight to Florida for Christmas to be with my parents for a couple week.

I am currently lucky enough to live in a house in the valley (thankfully due to considerably below market rent, for now…), so with interest among friends growing, I decided to host Friendsgiving this year.

Admittedly, I’m not the best of hosts, especially regarding the cooking, cleaning and overall living space enhancing skills that some so effortlessly exude, but I am more than willing and love the opportunity to contribute to a quality gathering of friends.

Preparing for the day, I felt a little anxiety with trying to make sure I didn’t forget any ingredients for cooking, that there enough tables and chairs, that the house was clean, and that we coordinated everyone bringing the right dishes.

As usual though, my overthinking and excessive worry were nothing more than wasted energy as everyone involved stepped in to fill in the gaps and pick up any slack. A mark of a great group of friends in itself.

Any initial anxiety faded away as we all bounced around the kitchen grabbing ingredients and stirring pots while frequently checking our phones (at least me 😆) for recipe instructions. The more culinarily experienced of guests stepping to put the magical last touches on all the classic dishes for the holiday.

With food prepared and tables set, we all sat down at our folding tables and chairs for the Friendsgiving Feast.

Before diving into the delicious offerings, my friend, Nikki, suggested that we go around the table and say what we are thankful for, and additionally, what everyone has been working on creatively.

Being a creative collective of friends, everyone at the table had something interesting to offer. From new music to video ideas, creature makeup, poetry, short stories and new space enhancing floral arrangements, every single person shared news on the latest progress of their passions.

By the time it was my turn I, without a doubt, knew what I was thankful for: Inspiring Creative Friends.

The Importance of an Inspiring Creative Community

Dinner was great and afterword some of us sat and talked more about creative endeavors while others jammed on their instruments. The whole day was amazing and easily ranks as one of my all time favorite Friendsgivings.

In the days after, gratitude continued to sink in as I reflected on how fortunate I am to have a community that exudes passion and constantly creates, ever pushing their own boundaries and exploring the limits of creative possibility.

An inspiring friend circle is such a valuable thing, especially in this era of life, firmly in the midst of adulthood, weighted down by all the requisite responsibilities that we all carry such as rent, insurance payments and taxes. All of us having to work so hard just to exist, but still reserving time and energy for that ultimate exploration of growth and discovery that is the creative pursuit.

As I continue to reflect, the creative path is so much the life that I want to live; constantly expanding, exploring and creating to discover and connect. And those traits are so well embodied by the people with which I am lucky to associate.

I realize that I have to attribute much of my continued progress down the creative path to my community of inspiring friends. Personal growth and the creative path can be solitary journeys, at least in stretches, but much of the hope in the pursuit is to find connection through your expressions, to share and to receive.

Hearing about cool new projects, ambitious visions and successes from my friends inspires me to continue on. It motivates me to push farther and expand my limits.

The shared path of expression deepens the connection between artists. It gives us something to talk about, something to keep us active and in tune with each other.

I’ve often said that one of my main motives for continuing to pursue creativity is so that I can be a part of the conversation. So that I can have a place at the table. And maybe through my effort, I’ll inspire someone else to join as well.

It is a unique path that artists walk. We all share in similar struggles and feelings of elation when breaking through a new barrier. But it is the path that connects us as we inspire each other with each step.

I encourage all creators and artists to work to cultivate and keep a group of inspiring creative friends, it benefits all of us.

I’m very thankful for my mine.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

Stable Video

https://stability.ai/news/stable-video-diffusion-open-ai-video-model

Generative AI Video is really gaining steam! Stability AI has released Stable Video Diffusion, their first foundational model for generative video, based on the image model Stable Diffusion. This state-of-the-art AI video model, now available in a research preview, marks a significant advancement in their aim to develop models for a wide range of applications and adds yet another impressive text-to-video model to the generative AI video race. I expect a version will be released to the public soon.

Stable Diffusion XL Turbo

https://stability.ai/news/stability-ai-sdxl-turbo

A week after my post on SDXL, Stability AI has released SDXL Turbo, a novel real-time text-to-image generation model that is much much faster at generating images. Utilizing a new distillation technique called Adversarial Diffusion Distillation (ADD), SDXL Turbo drastically reduces image generation steps from 50 to just one, maintaining high quality and sampling fidelity. This advancement leads to major improvements in inference speed, enabling the generation of 512x512 images in 207 milliseconds. Although currently under a non-commercial research license, SDXL Turbo represents significant progress in diffusion model technologies, offering benefits like single-step image outputs similar to those in Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). This model's capabilities can be explored on Stability AI's image editing platform, Clipdrop, available for free trials.

My Creative Updates

The holiday preparations as well as starting a new client project have taken up some of my creative time over the past week. But I’m continuing to work on tightening up arrangements for the new songs.

Over time I’ve found that listening back to arrangement ideas in demo form before focusing too much on final performances if helpful for me to fully explore ideas, so I’ve been focusing on that. Specifically around drums and bass lately, but will be moving into vocals and harmonies next.

I’ve also started working on an exciting new collaboration in the educational, creative tech space which has been a focus of late as well. It’s still early stages, but I hope to be able to share more soon.

Keeping with the times, I made an AI version of myself! A bunch of versions actually. Along with the image above, here are some of the cooler ones that I created:

It’s fun to play with injecting yourself into any kind of scene that your imagination can come up with!!

In order to make these images, I trained a LoRA of myself and used Stable Diffusion XL to create them via text prompt. Training an image model accurately requires a solid base set of images to provide detail on appearance, so I gathered a bunch of of my profile photos to use.

Here are the images that I used to train the model and create AI photos of myself.

You can see that not all of the generated images look exactly like me, but there is a lot that can be done to increase the accuracy of model training by tweaking your input images and updating parameters. This model is only my first attempt, I’m planning on training an improved version in the future.

Below is a more technical, high level approach to how to train a LoRA for use with Stable Diffusion XL.

Technical Process - Training on RunPod

If you’re looking to create images of yourself, there are a ton of options these days from paid apps like Lensa, PhotoAI and RunwayML. They all have varying degrees of accuracy and style, however, so to have the most control to create images that you want, you can train your own.

For those of you who are interested in the fairly technical process of training your own likenesses for much cheaper and with more power, then here is the process of how I did it.

In using your images you are essentially training a LoRA model that can then be used to describe imagery with your (or anyone / anything else you trained) specific likeness.

LoRA is short for Low-Rank Adaptation of Large Language Models (more info can be found here: https://stable-diffusion-art.com/lora/). It is a technique used in machine learning to modify large pre-trained models like GPT-3 or GPT-4 from OpenAI. It achieves this by only updating a small set of additional parameters, reducing the computational cost and time required for fine-tuning while maintaining the model's performance.

Training models comes with high computational cost in general. In order to successfully train a custom model, you need a powerful computer with a top tier GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

I personally don’t have a very powerful computer at home, and with the one I do have, I’m constantly using for other things (like writing this article, coding and making music), so I can’t have it locked up training profile photos for days.

Luckily there are plenty of options for cloud processing these days where you can offload your computation for a nominal fee.

The cloud computing provider that I used for this was Runpod.io. Runpod allows you to create instances of servers that have pre-installed configurations ready to suit specific needs, which in this case would be training models and creating images with Stable Diffusion.

Below are the high level steps I took to train the model in the cloud.

High Level Training Steps

If you want to try for yourself, this tutorial link is the one I followed and is a good guide: https://aituts.com/sdxl-lora/

Here are the high level steps:

1. Gather 20-100 images of one subject with framing and focus on the face (think profile photos). I used about 25 images for this version.

2. Edit images to center face and crop to 1:1 ratio with dimensions at 1024x1024 pixels if possible, otherwise 512x512 pixels.

3. Setup Runpod and deploy a Stable Diffusion instance with powerful GPU (template: Stable Diffusion Kohya_ss ComfyUI Ultimate [ashleykza/stable-diffusion-webui:3.6.1])

4. Upload your images to the server file system.

5. Caption images thoroughly for use in prompting (important for connecting prompts to aspects of photos, such as smiling or serious, having facial hair, etc.).

6. Configure and train the LoRA model.

7. Generate new images from your model using the Stable Diffusion web interface on the server (A1111 or ComfyUI).

That is a super high level overview of the steps, but again, this is the more detailed tutorial that I used if you want to try it yourself: https://aituts.com/sdxl-lora/

These tools and technologies are changing every day, so I hope to try training and updated model sometime in the future. I’m happy with the success of this initial iteration though, as it provides easy access to cool looking social profile posts in any context you could imagine.

If you want to dig even deeper, here’s an advanced approach using the technique of training a model of yourself by including images from celebrities that you look like to expand the set of training data for even more accurate and realistic results.

Video: SDXL LORA Style Training

And here’s the celebrity look-a-like generator it uses, if you just want to see what celebrity you look like to help extend your model training 😆

https://starbyface.com/

Apparently I look like somewhat like Charlie Weber. I don’t know who that is, and definitely don’t see it 😂

Anyway, it’s exciting to explore and create through the power of AI. I’m looking forward to doing more experiments in images, video and music in the future.

~ Michael

Share

Exciting Tech of The Week

Stable Diffusion XL + Runpod.io

SDXL - https://stability.ai/stable-diffusion
Runpod - https://www.runpod.io/

Stable Diffusion XL is a state-of-the-art AI model designed for generating images from textual descriptions. It can be used to train and employ LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) to interpret and visualize text prompts with high accuracy, making it a valuable tool for creatives seeking to transform their ideas into visual art. This model excels in creating detailed and imaginative images, providing a seamless bridge between textual imagination and visual representation.

For ease of use, especially for those without extensive technical resources, Stable Diffusion XL can be accessed via cloud services like Runpod.io. This approach offers a user-friendly platform for harnessing the power of the AI without the need for advanced hardware or technical expertise. Users can access the power of Stable Diffusion XL on Runpod.io to train and generate images, facilitating a convenient and accessible way for creatives to explore AI-assisted art creation.

My Creative Updates

Here is a sneak peak of one of the songs that I’m working on, set to some visuals that I created in RunwayML and Plazma Punk. There are vocals for it that I haven’t yet recorded, but this is a preview of the verse musical vibe. This is the most chill song, the rest will be more rock focused. As part of my solo music, I really want to explore style, genre and approach to creation, but rock, and ambient electronic like this one, are what I know, so I’m starting with that!