On Joy of Creation and AI

A reflection from the hayfields of Finland to the digital frontier
by Jaakko

Back in my hometown in Finland, we used to make hay in summer. It took several days, and we worked in shifts. Under the vast July sky, we loaded bales into the trailer of a tractor, using nothing but our imagination—like a game of Tetris. We got tiny cuts on our legs from the hay, and in the evenings, those cuts would sting in the sauna. But there was a kind of joyful exhaustion. The day’s work was done, the barn was full, and the golden fields glowed in the evening sun. The next morning, we rose early and continued, hoping the weather would hold.

I carry warm memories of that time (though I don’t miss the mosquitoes).

Whether digital or physical, I feel that with all this convenience of AI, we’re becoming lonelier than ever. Like ships without purpose.

Any meaningful human creation or work is always connected—somehow—to other human beings. And any human suffering or problem is always rooted in relationships.

Connection is what drives us.

We wouldn’t build a house without a dream or a purpose—it’s hard work and risky business. And yet, we try. We have the willpower to make it happen, convenient or not (probably not).

If we haven’t tried, have we truly lived?
AI can help us create more, with less risk.
But why do we need more?
Is it really more, in the sense of being richer in meaning?

Take writing, for example.
A writer begins with a mass of clay in the mind.
Little by little, they shape it—cutting pieces from their soul until the form becomes a pure expression.

They reorganize it, refine it, and publish it.
It might take a long time.
It might be just a small book or essay that never becomes popular.

But the writer feels that same joyful exhaustion as the haymaker.
They’ve created something meaningful, and their journey is built into the work. It doesn’t matter—even if it hurts.

Human meaning lives in the process and the journey.
And that process is not meant to be convenient.

I fear we are losing the joy of creation and living.
Let’s continue creating—as humans.