Normal People Don't Care

Author

Lucas Puskaric
July 11, 2024

We live in times where you are forced to have an opinion about things.

In many ways, this is good. But we can’t possibly be informed properly on everything that is happening in the world.

We encounter people espousing their moralistic virtue about what we should or shouldn’t believe. We get shamed for choices when, overall, we really haven’t done anything wrong.

For instance, many people may choose to buy an iPhone every year just because, not realizing that type of consumption might be harmful to the environment or something like that.

However, there are a many areas where people are misinformed. I see people refusing to use AI at all because a Google search uses less water. But that’s a vast oversimplification. Those aren’t easy things to compare. You shouldn’t just see one opinion post and decide to base entire parts of your life philosophy on them.

Training an LLM model does take a metric fuckton of energy. But continual usage isn’t that much different than running other large-scale software operations. While studies raise concerns about future trends, individual choices to abstain from AI won't halt model training. These models already exist, and you can opt for locally-run models if environmental impact is a concern. It's fascinating how people choose their battles. I'm sure I exhibit similar biases in areas I haven't yet recognized.

On the internet, we hear the loudest complaints coming from randos and people with large followings who we often wouldn’t even like in real life.

We need to stop demonizing normal people and start educating them.

Rather than saying, “You are an idiot for not doing this”, let’s outline some facts they may not know about. From our perspective, it may be completely obvious to us. But we certainly don’t all have the same context or opportunities. So have some grace and be a good human. The next time you’re ready to go off, take a step back, and educate or move on. You don’t need to preach or manipulate them into “being a better person” to make yourself feel superior. But also: realize it isn’t your job to educate people either and that some people will not be receptive no matter what. It doesn’t mean anything about yourself.

@elleunchained made a TikTok a while back that I think about all the time. We aren’t necessarily good or bad people. We probably are relatively neutral in the grand scheme. Most people aren’t in a position where they can really, truly, deeply impact the world.

Yes, one person can change the world. Yes, multiple people choosing individual choice can change the world. But often individual consumer choice makes less different than people hope it does. Most of the time it requires a concerted effort, regulation, and industry-wide changes.

There’s a guaranteed way to make the world better and it’s something we can all do: choose not to be an asshole.

See y’all tomorrow!
Lucas