I was always skeptical when it comes to new, shiny things while the majority jumped on the hype train. If someone were to introduce me to LLMs 5 years ago, and say from then on I'm not obliged to write any code, do any math, formulate complex and meaningful sentences, and that some machine would do it, I wouldn't even get excited. Why would I hand over my intellectual responsibility to a machine? Why would I want to blunt my mind, one's sharpest weapon? What's the specialty, where's the soul inside that? My stance would also remain the same if we were to talk about short-form video content or mindlessly scrolling posts (i guess we call it productive procrastination) on HN. It is utter nonsense! If the crowd went in these directions, I would want to live happily, far away from that crowd.
But then, something happened. As life went on, I fell into an abyss. You know, the kind of times when you feel that you need to find distractions to silence your inner self, even if you know it is wrong. When you can't get your most basic assignments done even if you try your best. When you're on autopilot. When you strip out your spirit to escape the burden.
Then I realized, I was doing those things that I'm highly skeptical of. I was watching those nonsense short videos. I was listening to those popular songs. Then I realized, I was consulting a machine about everything that came into my mind. I wasn't doing any research and just making robots research (or hallucinate!) for me. We know that we, humans, love to take the easiest way. However, this was too much. I've always believed that everyone is unique, and then realized that I started losing my uniqueness, my personality.
And then I realized,
I had become the crowd.
I guess there's nothing wrong with becoming a member of the crowd and this post is not about being a special snowflake. However, it seems like there are so many people losing their uniqueness. Dreaming of and chasing the same ideals that lack depth. Unable to read any type of book and draw their own conclusions. Using exact same sentences all the time.
It is time to move on from this. If you too feel like me, use what you are given. Although we live in herds, that doesn't mean we'll all be copies of each other. Rediscover yourself. Bring the fun back.