Over the years we’ve discovered what it’s like to remove friction.
We know what it’s like to never be bored again. Netflix taught us that.
And you know what it’s like? A paradox of choice to get depressed of.
We know what it’s like to never be alone again. Social media taught us that.
And you know what it’s like? Alone, because other people’s highlight reel is killing our feeling of self esteem.
We know what it’s like to always know the answer. Google taught us that.
And you know what it’s like? Killing conversations, because where did our daydreams and philosophical questions go?
We know what it’s like to instantly have what we desire. Amazon and Visa taught us that.
And you know what it’s like? Stressful and shameful. Because how do I actually pay for this thing that I didn’t want in the first place?
AI won’t slow us down as gratification animals. It’s speeding us up.
Clones in the metaverse. AI call centers. Self driving cars.
But let’s not forget that we grow because of friction. Not because of convenience.
We need to get ill before we get better.
We need to be lost before we can feel at the right place.
We need to lose to really understand what it’s like to win.
Do we really need to clone ourselves into the metaverse to 1-on-1 communicate with our tribes via 88 clones?
Do we really need to never wait in line at the customer service number, because there’s an AI agent that won’t ever get frustrated, helping us?
Removing all friction leaves us in a dopamine junkies world.
Striving for less and less friction is a race to a bottom that consists of only rats in wheels.
So understanding how to create friction and dance with friction is an invaluable skill to possess in this new era.