This question belongs to you

Automation demands that we re-examine and redefine our own humanness.

It takes something away, and then it's up to us to replace it, to put something new in the space that remains. After all, we are creators.

The written word diminished our capacity to remember. Photography was a kick in the shins to artwork that could perfectly reproduce reality.

But each time, new things emerged. Metaphor flowered, alphabets became an art form. New art forms attracted and spawned philosophers.

And now, here we are again.

Our jobs, our sense of value and identity, our old, inherited definitions of what makes us human, are being taken away. The pressure is enormous.

It may have become your inclination, but I recommend against asking a chatbot what's next. Hold that question close. It's your sovereign right to wrestle with it. Let it sit unanswered in your chest. Try things. Watch for signs.

A detail from my painting, Horizon 12. Watercolor, wax pencil and ink on paper.

When I think about it, it seems to me our reimagined identities were never handed to us. We created them.