I had set myself the objective of expressing this recent layoff and my next step plan in a creative act, using generative AI. A secondary objective was to illustrate this curious blend between appearance and reality in today’s professional life, such an old paradigm though. Generative AI may amplify this phenomenon so much. So, I decided to show this, pushing it to the limits of absurdity. The outcome is burlesque, isn’t it?
Out, out, brief candle!
This role was but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It was a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Behold, the reason of my layoff doth dawn upon me!
I, misplaced, found not the right abode for my skill.
Henceforth, as a consultant, I shall roam,
Amidst commodity trading, my duty to fulfill.
Guiding my clients through the perilous terrain they face,
From market fluctuations to tempests’ embrace.
A Shakespearean scholar will certainly recognise a quote stolen from the famous soliloquy of Macbeth, act 5, scene 5, starting “Tomorrow, abd tomorrow, and tomorrow”. It talks about life in general, stating how it is an illusion, insubstantial and fading. Utterly meaningless, null and void. See here for an some details of the context. Having had many conversations on this, the superficial aspect and the meaningless tasks exhibit something of this existential crisis that Shakespeare is showing. But I wanted this to be shown in a funny way, and also showing I am definitively a part of this curious job life. So the text follows with a detail of what I want to do now as a consultant, in Shakespeare style, using ChatGPT.
My point is was to show something burlesque, totally. I thought this would reflect well this curious impression I have when I see many professional behaviors here and there. Today, there is a tendency to focus on the importance of presenting well, in a very positive but in a “forced” manner. And this is done excessively. I see too many presentations, websites, dull and bland, so polished and trying to convince. They have with smiling people, nice wordings … I believe AI will definitely enable the automation of this. And paradoxically, perhaps help to eradicate this culture of excessively pristine presentation, lacking authenticity.
Note that I did the picture above with Midjourney. I had to do many, many attempts to get here. I wanted to show a nice but absurd picture with Macbeth beging a consultant in commodity market today, did this work?