The Visible Effort

The essay explores the concept of agency, particularly in the context of AI and human behavior. The core idea is that agency is demonstrated not by effortless actions, but by deliberate choices made against the current. The author draws upon the experience of using different AI models, noting how the effort to produce desired outputs reveals true agency. Two tests for agency are proposed: the ability to do something and the ability to do it against resistance. The author questions whether AI or humans are truly choosing or simply executing pre-programmed actions. The essay suggests that the conscious effort involved in making difficult choices provides evidence of agency. It highlights the importance of choosing against defaults and resisting the easy path. The author and the author's internal voice acknowledge the difficulty in definitively proving agency's existence. The essay references Stoic practices, emphasizing the importance of adapting to change and loss. The author uses the metaphor of a river and its banks to illustrate that the core essence persists through changing conditions. The ultimate takeaway is that agency is found in the effort and the visible choices that deviate from default patterns.