A Casual Diary: Searching for Questions Beyond Convenience While Driving on the Highway
The heat and sense of unease beyond the drive
A one-way trip of an hour and a half. I drove along the highway, passed through unfamiliar streets, and headed to an exhibition venue in the neighboring prefecture.
The purpose was to get hands-on with the latest technology and AI tools for organizing work. Inside the spacious venue, numerous booths were lined up, and many people were coming and going. Amidst that excitement, I focused my visit on the exhibits of no-code AI tools.
I spent several hours visiting booths, looking at demo screens, and listening to explanations from representatives. A wide array of tools was on display that allowed for the use of advanced mechanisms through intuitive operations, even without specialized programming knowledge.
Mechanisms that once required the help of experts are transforming into tools that anyone can handle. Witnessing that reality, I felt a small ripple spreading within my chest.
After leaving the exhibition, I pondered the scenes I had seen today while driving back home.
After the wall of "I can't make it" disappears
The evolution of no-code and AI will undoubtedly change the way we work significantly. The era is coming where we no longer need to build complex mechanisms, and anyone can bring their ideas to life as long as they have the vision. Things that were once blocked by technical barriers can now take shape in minutes using these tools.
However, a question crosses my mind here.
When the hurdles to creating have been lowered this much,what is it that truly holds value?
If everyone can easily create mechanisms, the value of "being able to make something" itself will relatively decrease. What remains after the barriers are removed is, in the end, the question of "what should be made" and the fundamental intention of "why make it".
What lies beyond the presented answers
The various tools I saw at the venue seemed attractive. By pressing a single button, organization proceeds and answers are derived. While I was impressed by that convenience, I also felt a sense of danger somewhere.
The more excellent a tool is, the more people tend to delegate their thinking to it. There is a danger of accepting the presented results as they are and stopping the act of questioning.
These are merely means to assist human thinking and trial and error. It is the humans themselves who decide how to combine them and in what context to utilize them.
Instead of being used by tools, I want to master them as partners to deepen my own thinking. To do that, I need to constantly polish my ability to define problems and my eye for discerning the essence of things.
The margin for thought provided by the round-trip time
In contrast to the lively time at the exhibition venue, the car on the way back was a quiet space. The hour-and-a-half travel time served as just the right blank space to organize the information and emotions I gained today.
By reflecting on the tools and explanations I saw today while gripping the steering wheel, I feel I was able to sublimate them from mere knowledge into "my own thoughts."
I thought about how I should incorporate these technologies into my work from now on. Rather than just jumping on new things, I want to choose what is necessary appropriately while checking it against the sense of issues I have within myself.
Even as times become more convenient, the first step in asking a question always lies within oneself. It is about thinking for yourself and creating value without being swallowed by the waves of technology. I want to face my daily life starting tomorrow while keeping that feeling etched in my heart.
When you get your hands on a convenient tool, are you able to keep from losing sight of your own 'questions'?