Discovering Human Factories: A Personal Reflection on Modern Work, AI, and Creativity

To write in public or not...

I like to write... words and code... both are close to my heart... one allows me to open up my thoughts, and the other allows me to play and find joy.

But why write in public?... keep it private... write whatever... why draw attention here?... will you not be judged?

Well... I have given it some thought... yes! Opinions can create distractions... I don't intend to seek attention... I have written a lot in private... but I aspire to connect with thinkers and creators of our time... a clan I believe I belong to.

I aspire to have conversations with thinkers... and explore possibilities of human endeavors...

The world has largely become transactional... society has created these factories of workers... called companies and corporations... where I see humans being treated as resources... and have processes to put them on some kind of efficiency machine to churn out all their energies for transactional needs... Very few, I find, are truly alive.

Yes! These factories help us thrive in financial security, family, kids, friends, and travel... we seek happiness in these forms... but most end up spending more than 60% of their life doing things they don't enjoy. Add on top... instead of earning and acquiring, we shift to taking loans and acquiring... repaying in installments forever making life even heavier. I also see people who retire out of these factories with earned comforts and loved ones around... yet most find it difficult to restructure life to fathom boredom... spending time alone feels lonely and burdensome.

It’s a tradeoff, and many die long before mortal death arrives... and one day we are erased... maybe remembered by the world for some time... but our identity fades into this vast cosmos. Is this all there is to life... a set pattern of to-dos?

Our education system... seems like another kind of factory... they invite and lure us with promises of a great life ahead... conditioning us for 3-5 years to be part of these work factories. It seems like both factories are conspiring to make us believe that we are no more than human resources.

I do find small startups... the small factories... small teams with no hierarchy... where we are not treated as resources. It looks like a great place to be if we are driven... if we are problem-solvers... deep divers... don’t always wait for orders to act... believe in collaboration. Here, we all take responsibility for our work... we feel valued... and many of us truly enjoy the process... trying to build something together... amidst a lot of uncertainty. I see many alive here.

Now there is a new entrant—AI, which is evolving at a pace that has started shaking things apart for these old factories that train and treat humans as resources. I see it as a great enabler of discovery and exploration... capable of solving complex problems with human collaboration... but it will also reduce the current factories, and existing human resources will need to adapt quickly and explore a new set of possibilities.

I now see micro-factories emerging... just 2-3 people building things with AI... this looks even better, giving rise to solo or micro-entrepreneurship... a small group of creators and innovators building and collaborating with AI agents, ushering in a new era of innovations and discoveries.

As I explore life, I keep discovering many such factories (big and small) that society has created for personal and transactional needs... and I am cautious about where I choose to tune in.

This is just the beginning of my exploration—I'd love to exchange ideas with others on this journey.