Hello friends,
As some of you may know, I am having an awkward time with my day job.
I believe, for many of us who still have jobs in this economy, it is a common experience, as staffs are reduced and owners and CEOs tell us it's time to do more with less (so they can keep their profits).
I am at the age where I'm still too young (and under-funded) to retire and embarrassingly too old to find a new job in my field—software development. Many of my friends are in the same boat, and, unfortunately, some of my friends and former co-workers have been praying for a job they could hate for too long.
It is a sign of the times—disinformation and lies, power- and money-hungry billionaires, over-hyped technological capabilities, and a divided, scared, and uncivil populace.
In an effort to keep moving forward (what else can one do?), I have been looking for an alternate work scenario—something energizing with more soul and less sadness and stress.
And what better way to do that than to ask Gemini AI, Google's answer to ChatGPT? Since I’m probably going to be replaced by artificial intelligence, I might as well lean on it to tell me what I’m supposed to do.
My journey started when I was reading a free cooking magazine from the local health food store. I saw an advertisement for a wellness school.
Apparently, you can make a living by telling people (humans) how to experience wellness (live healthier and longer). I find this kind of funny, because having a healthy life is no mystery—eat good food, don’t smoke, reduce stress, exercise. Anything else is just a rationalization about eating junk and being fooled into donating your money to big food conglomerates.
Does anyone really not know this?
Since there is this school, and as I did research, I discovered it's not the only one—there are lots. So, it must be a thing.
I wanted to know if I could make a living from telling people what they should already know—most everyone can live a life in wellness.
I asked Gemini AI: "Can I make money as a wellness consultant?"
Gemini came back with a resounding "yes." I actually think it put an exclamation point in its answer.
A track that the school offers is "wellness nutrition." I like to cook, so maybe that's for me. I prompted Gemini with a similar inquiry: "Can I make money as a wellness nutritionist?"
Again, another emphatic "yes!" along with an organized summary description from its vast database of other people’s knowledge.
As I read a little more into these answers, I realized that wellness (as least as Gemini viewed it) is considered an extension of practice for someone who is already in the medical or human resources fields. I am not in either of those. Besides, I wasn't looking to enhance my software development career, but to leave it completely.
So, I needed another direction.
It occurred to me that mindfulness is kind of like wellness, but less specific—mindfulness practice covers anything from Zen Buddhism to paying attention to your food while you eat and not stepping on ants.
Since I've adhered to some Buddhist thought for most of my adult life, I threw this at Gemini: "Can I make money as a mindfulness consultant?"
"Yes!"
It seems I was on a streak. Everything I posed to Gemini seemed profitable.
So, I asked myself: why was I not already doing these things?
Why was I toiling 9-5, or actually, these days, 7-7 and on most weekends (doing more with less), at my current position?
I got thinking. Perhaps I was being duped.
Perhaps Gemini, and all AIs, were just overly optimistic.
I mean, what does a piece of software know about bringing home the bacon? About being a weekend warrior? About experiencing a 2 AM panic from the realization that, in my fatigued state, I sent the customer the wrong file and would have to answer for it?
For my next test, I wanted to find something that the AI would tell me was not a feasible career change.
Like Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner when he asked Deckard to run a Voight-Kampff on Rachael (an android passing as human), I wanted a negative test.
Tyrell: Is this to be an empathy test? Capillary dilation of the so-called ‘blush response’, fluctuation of the pupil, involuntary dilation of the iris.
Deckard: We call it Voight-Kampff for short.
Tyrell: Demonstrate it. I want to see it work.
Deckard: Where’s the subject?
Tyrell: I want to see it work on a person. I want to see it work on a negative before I provide you with the positive.https://storiesbywilliams.com/2011/07/27/blade-runner-best-lines/
So, doing my best Harrison Ford (the actor who played Deckard in Blade Runner), I asked: "Can I make money telling people to go to hell?"
Viola!
Making money by telling people to "go to hell" is generally not a viable or advisable way to earn income.
- Google Gemini AI
Straight from the mouths of digital babes. I’m still mulling over the soft generally response.
It's almost like the people who control these AIs don't want me to tell them to go to hell.
Oh, well, back to the salt mines with a song in my heart.
Happy reading, happy writing, happy singing,
David