I have a tendency to make plans for multiple projects, create long to-do lists, start a few, complete one, and still feel like I haven’t tackled the real list I meant to. But I don’t think that’s a uniquely “me” problem.

Blogging was one of those projects I always planned to start, but never did. Thankfully, that’s changed. So, for this month’s write-up, I’m giving an ode to blogging - but instead of sharing why I do it, I’m sharing why I didn’t start earlier.

Hopefully, this will resonate with anyone who’s been holding off on something they’ve long wanted to begin (if you continue reading this) - from one homo sapien to another.

What will I even write about?

Yes what indeed.

I’ve always had too many interests at once. Two years ago, it was making crafts from foraged goods to decorate my home. Then came woodworking, followed by landscape design, and now, being a willing servant to my two burmese cats.

Even as my interests kept changing, my curiosity about AI never really left. And now, that curiosity turned into a pull to do something that helps mitigate existential risks from AI. Once that clicked, I made a plan of learning everything I could learn about technical AI safety - and write about what I learned, out in the open. That’s how I finally found my focus, and I’ve stuck with it since.

Do I even care, and do others care?

This question was trickier for me for a long time.

For a long time, I couldn’t find a topic that sat at the intersection of what I cared about and what others might care about. I considered writing about things I’d learned at work, the kind of lessons you wish you knew earlier. But it didn’t feel unique - so it doesn’t answer the question of others caring. On the other hand, topics I personally cared about didn’t seem shareable enough to put out in the open.

When I stumbled into the AI safety research space though, something clicked. I care about working in AI if I can help make it go well for others, making others care enough about it. That gave my writing both purpose and audience.

In a way, I found about 75% of my ikigai - what you love, what you’re good at, and what the world needs. I haven’t quite figured out the last 25% (what you can be paid for), but if my experiments and reflections add something toward mitigating existential risk, then perhaps that part will follow too.

If I write, am I just reinventing someone else’s wheel?

This thought c...

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