This view is AI-free
I've never been a nature person. That is, the kind of person who feels energised by going for a walk or swimming in the sea. On the contrary, I've always loved big cities and everything that comes with them (the good and the bad). Being in a beautiful, well-built building with everything available has always energised me much more than anything to do with nature.
But I've been sensing a shift in recent months. Last year, in August, I moved to a new city - an island, in fact, with an abundance of beautiful scenery that only nature can provide. At the same time, I've been working for a while in a tech company, which means I work in a beautiful city, but my weekdays are mainly spent in front of a screen.
Like many people, I'm not coping very well with the rapid development of AI. Not because I think it will take my job. I think it will certainly turn it into something else, but I'm positive I'll work towards that transition. However, I hate the fact that it won't let us sit still and figure out what to do. It keeps going too fast and I can't help but worry about what our reality will be in the following years or decades.
And that's when I realised that this shift towards appreciating nature has been happening to me. When I'm looking at the sea, when I'm walking along a trail, when the sun is burning my shoulders or when the wind is too strong to cycle against it (I don't recommend it), that's when I feel the best. Lately, to have an experience that isn't tied to a screen, an algorithm or a learning model is what drives me. Nature makes me feel both insignificant - because it is infinitely bigger than me - and whole - because it allows me to be a part of it - and I love it.