Hey Siri, play me Eminem’s new album
Driving home this afternoon my wife mentioned to me that, interestingly, surprisingly and quite unexpectedly, Eminem had released a new album. Now, I’m not exactly an Eminem fan but I can admit when somebody is very good at the thing they do even if I don’t like that thing. Eminem is very good, also, that’s not the point.
We talked about how, back in the good old days — we’re terribly old now, you see — one heard of a new album, maybe it was advertised, maybe you heard a single on the radio, and then went through an ordeal, or, at the very least, a protracted multi-stage process to acquire this new album. You had to work for it. It took effort. And when you got it, it was glorious. Having it mattered.
It was during that conversation I just piped up with: “Hey Siri, play me Eminem’s new album” and Siri said something to the effect of “sure man, fill your boots” and played it. Literal seconds between knowing that the album existed and it playing in my car. Too easy.
How easy is too easy? How far is too far when making things easier to consume? Do we lose something in the process of making everything effort and friction free? Did we appreciate music and other things more, back when it took some effort on our part to get or did that extra effort add nothing and now we just have the bliss of music — and books and TV and movies and food and transport — available to our most impulsive whims?
For me, meaning in life, happiness, purpose, satisfaction, is supported by three pillars: focus, overcoming and mastery. When one or more of those pillars are meddled with, you run the risk affecting the things that make life worth living.
“Overcoming” is interesting in this case because facing obstacles and overcoming them is how we grow as human beings. From early childhood, throughout our lives, the experience of getting through appropriately hard things shape us, helps us learn and teaches us skills. It gives us confidence and makes us stronger. As with everything, there needs to be a balance: tip into too much hardship and the damage could exceed the value of overcoming it or have the wrong kind of obstacles and you can’t learn anything from overcoming them.
Listening to a newly published album is, as far as I can tell, now as easy as it is possible to make (perhaps one last step is a direct brain interface to Siri but even that would only be a marginal improvement). The vast amounts of money and effort being invested to make transport, shopping, shipping and every other thing in the world similarly easy, is nearly inconceivable and will inevitably bear dramatic results; probably quite soon.
What might we lose in this crusade against “effort”? Are we removing only the obstacles that teach us nothing, or are we also wiping out the things that help us grow and give life meaning? What will we be as human beings, when we want for nothing, struggle for nothing and Siri can arrange anything? When we don’t have to do anything and need nothing. Who will we be?
