Selection vs. Creation
Traditional creativity involves making choices at every brushstroke or keystroke. AI creativity often involves Selection—choosing the best option from a generated list. Phenomenologically, selection feels "thinner" than creation. It engages the critical faculties but bypasses the generative ones, leading to a sense of "hollow productivity."
The Atrophy of Meaning
If we define meaning as the residue of effort, then effortless creation risks being meaningless. Process Alienation is the specific malaise of the modern knowledge worker who produces 10x more output but feels 10x less connection to it.
Field Notes & Ephemera
Field Note: "I wrote the book in a week. It's a good book. But I don't love it. I don't feel like I bled for it. It feels like I just supervised its construction."