Convenience: How Our Obsession with Ease is Dumbing Us Down

Convenience has become a tyranny that threatens to engulf our ability to think critically.

The other day we made a series of posts on Blackbot's Instagram account. Seconds later, we were receiving direct messages asking us: What app did you use to do that? What app do I need to have to do something similar? Did you do it with AI?

It was then that I realized a phenomenon that has been happening over the past few years. We have gone from a world where, when you wanted to do something new, you asked others what they had studied or what skills were needed to perform a certain task or achieve a certain result, to a world where we ask what application you used, what button I need to press or what prompt I need to use.

The truth is that, in this transition, we have reduced the creative process to a series of mechanized and predefined steps. This, of course, reflects a transformation in our tools, but also in our mentality and approach to learning, creativity, and innovation.

Before, learning involved a journey of exploration and skill acquisition. It was common to invest time in understanding the fundamentals, experimenting with different methods, and developing one's own style. The question "What did you study?" implied an interest in the process and an appreciation for the effort and dedication required to master a discipline.

In contrast, the question "What app did you use?" reveals a desire for quick and efficient results, minimizing the effort and understanding required. This mentality aligns with the culture of immediacy that prevails in our current society, where instant gratification and efficiency are highly valued. However, this approach can limit our ability to innovate and deeply understand the mechanisms behind our actions.

The rise of AI-based tools has exacerbated this trend. With AI, many tasks that previously required specialized skills can now be performed with just a few clicks or a well-formulated prompt. This seems to have democratized access to many capabilities, allowing more people to create content and almost innovative solutions. However, it has also created a dependence on tools and a superficiality in their understanding.

A clear example of this can be seen in the field of graphic design. Before, being a graphic designer required a deep knowledge of color theory, typography, composition, and many other technical skills. Today, with applications like Canva or AI tools that automatically generate designs, anyone can create attractive graphics without the need for extensive training. This has allowed an explosion in the amount of graphic assets that are designed, but it has also reduced the value and understanding of the art of design.

The same is happening in other fields, such as writing, music, and programming. Tools like ChatGPT can generate coherent and well-structured texts in seconds, AI programs can compose "original" music, and development platforms can automate large parts of the coding process. While these tools are powerful and democratizing, they also raise questions about the future of human skills and the value of deep knowledge.

"We've gone from hunting and growing our food to pressing three buttons on a phone to get it..." - Seth Godin

All this reminds me of an article by Tim Wu, called "The Tyranny of Convenience," in which the author states that in developed countries of the 21st century, convenience (i.e., the most efficient and easiest ways to perform personal tasks) has emerged as the force that perhaps most influences our individual lives and our economies.

"Convenience has the ability to make other options unthinkable. Once you have used a washing machine, laundering clothes by hand seems irrational, even if it might be cheaper. After you have experienced streaming television, waiting to see a show at a prescribed hour seems silly, even a little undignified. To resist convenience — not to own a cellphone, not to use Google — has come to require a special kind of dedication that is often taken for eccentricity, if not fanaticism."

From my perspective, convenience has become a tyranny that threatens to engulf our ability to think critically. The constant search for the easy and the immediate has relegated to a secondary plane the effort to learn and discern, replacing it with the simple passive delivery of information.

I am afraid that our thought systems will become as weak as the digestive system of some birds, whose parents must regurgitate partially digested food into the beaks of their chicks so that they can absorb the nutrients necessary for their growth. I am concerned that we will no longer be able to think for ourselves and will need everything digested and processed by others.

As convenience has ascended to the status of an ideal, a value, and a way of life, it's crucial to examine the impact of this obsession on ourselves and society. While I don't advocate demonizing convenience, making things easier isn't inherently wrong. In fact, it often opens up opportunities that once seemed out of reach and generally makes life less burdensome, especially for those facing challenges.

However, it's a mistake to assume that convenience is always beneficial. It has a complex relationship with other values we hold dear. While touted as a tool for liberation, convenience also has a dark side. With its promise of effortless efficiency, it threatens to eliminate the kinds of challenges that give life meaning. Designed to free us, it can become a limitation on our actions and, subtly, enslave us.

Embracing discomfort as the norm would be irrational, but if we let convenience dictate everything, we'll be giving up far too much.