An antidote to AI tinnitus

Can you hear it? That weird buzzing in your ear. Yup, it's the low-level hum of uncertainty about AI's impact on our careers, paired with the high-pitched screech of hot takes and prophecies. But here's a possible antidote to AI tinnitus - a quote from OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman:

"Agency, willfulness, and determination will likely be extremely valuable. Correctly deciding what to do and figuring out how to navigate an ever-changing world will have huge value; resilience and adaptability will be helpful skills to cultivate."

I believe he's right. After a decade of helping creative professionals wrestle with change (and doing plenty of wrestling myself), I’ve seen these themes surface again and again. But these words get tossed around so much they can lose meaning. What does cultivating them actually look like in the real world?

Here's one way to think through it:

1. Start with mindset: Before any tactical moves, get clear on your relationship with change. Most of us don't enjoy change, even if we pretend to be champions of disruption.
2. Set a compass: Define a direction based on your unique strengths and interests, not just what the hype cycle dictates. Be mindful of becoming contorted by the crowd.
3. Identify specific skills: Break down broad concepts like "adaptability" into concrete capabilities that apply to your day-to-day.
4. Create sandboxes: Building stuff like 'determination' is not easy. Find low-stakes environments to experiment, fail, and learn.
5. Build feedback loops: How much agency did you take? Where might you have you been more resilent?Gather input from peers, mentors, and your own reflection. Or ask an AI... :)

The framework isn't perfect, but it's a start. But whether AI ends up being revolutionary or just another shiny tool in our kit, these capabilities Altman outlines will keep us grounded.

What say thee?

How do you think about building these skills when everything's shifting under our feet?