---
title: Does efficiency reduce value?
description: Bob Nystrom's "The Value of Things"
date: 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
tags:
  - ai
  - creativity
  - meaning
---

Bob Nystrom's blog on [The Value of Things](https://journal.stuffwithstuff.com/2026/01/24/the-value-of-things/) resonated a lot. Reminded me, among other things, of this popular quip:

![](./GPi6FwTXEAAPLjz.png)

Ioana Pioaru, an artist whose work I enjoy very much on Instagram, [said](https://www.instagram.com/p/DOiqrt9iB-2/) of (the abusive use of) AI that "...the one thing that it will never steal from you (unless you allow it): your love for your own art and the process of art making."

LLMs have sparked joy for me on one front: the making of interactive narratives (a la [Nicky Case](https://ncase.me)) --- something I always wanted to do and had ideas for, but found the technical side daunting/tedious (read: lazy me). Now it feels empowering to be able to try... from a certain PoV, one could argue that this is a utility creation thing... but for me it also has some degree of meaning because of my own long-time frustration at not being able to do this sort of thing, and now suddenly being somewhat able to!

PS. While I don't particularly look forward to doing my laundry and dishes, there is something to be said of the mundane. I am not sure what it looks like when all of it goes away. [Timothy Gowers](https://x.com/wtgowers) [asked](https://x.com/wtgowers/status/1644727938678497280?s=46) on X:

> A thought experiment. Suppose that society reorganized itself so that the AI profits were shared out, rather than making just a few people very rich, so that one could have a comfortable life without working. What would people do? What would give life its meaning?

A lot hanging on the "suppose", nonetheless an interesting thought experiment!
