will.i.am Opens Up: Depression, Creativity & ADHD!

Creative Process & Origins

• Will.i.am identifies creativity as his primary "currency" and "superpower," originating from encouragement by his single mother in Boyle Heights, East LA.
• His mother fostered his creativity by turning thrift store clothes into one-of-a-kind items, teaching him to transform the "old into new."
• Will learned to loop and record music at age 10 using his sister's Teddy Ruxpin cassette player and his mother's stereo equipment.
• He describes the creative process as an involuntary biological function, comparing it to breathing or a heart beating, where the mind has no control over the "organ" of creativity.
• Will defines true creativity as a cycle of absorption and rinsing (metaphorically "vomiting"), stating that worrying about judgment indicates one is wearing a "costume of creative" rather than being one.
• He argues that humility is required to attract information, noting that arrogance causes people to stop sharing perspectives because they "want to see you fail."
• Will contrasts "hard work" as a relative concept, illustrating that his mind moves his body involuntarily, whereas many consider this effort.
• He asserts that creativity must first serve the individual to make sense of the world before it can be strategically used to help others.
• Will warns that creatives who fear failure due to others' opinions are likely not creating for the right reasons.
• He describes the path of a creative as "thirsting for the abyss" and exploring deep complexities, contrasting his "electron" nature with a partner's "proton" desire for stillness.
• Will admits he lacks an "off switch" for his analytical mind, which he describes as always "thinking about something," a trait that can strain relationships if not managed.
• He utilizes an "analog" analogy for relationships: even an electron moving around a nucleus is "still" relative to its own frame of reference, suggesting one can stay true to their nature while supporting a partner.
• Will reveals he delayed having children until age 36 because he felt he needed to first reach an "ultimate" level of stability to serve others, later realizing he should have started earlier.
• He acknowledges that raising a family would have forced him to be more organized and "aerodynamic" in his career, allowing him to "cut through corners" more effectively.
• Will plans to transition from a "juggler" who does everything personally to a financier and team assembler, allowing him to become a "full-time dad."
• He describes living in a "future state" of mind to manifest his goals, such as acting as if he had already moved his family out of the projects to psychologically prepare for that reality.
• He founded a robotics and computer science foundation in 2008 which now serves nearly 15,000 students in Los Angeles.
• Will's vision for the foundation was to equip inner-city youth with skills to compete in a digital age where blue-collar and white-collar jobs may disappear.
• He projects that by 2030, 15-year-olds will have their own AI models and companies, democratizing the creation process.
• Will cites a "dark period" in March 1993 at age 18, caused by drug use, where he experienced "distortion" and dis-ease.
• He defines "distortion" as a vibrational dis-harmony that leads to depression, distinct from depression itself.
• Will distinguishes between anxiety (fear of uncontrollable future outcomes) and future casting (strategic planning of controllable scenarios).
• He compares the anxiety of future casting to getting wet in the rain versus the shower, stating awareness removes the emotional tripping.
• He notes that men, particularly Black men, often struggle to discuss mental health and the "dip" in their emotional roller coaster.
• Will identifies his femininity as a superpower, acknowledging the lack of support for masculine expression in the 1990s LGBTQ community.
• He released the song "Be Nice" during his dark period to help shift his own vibration and encourage others to do the same.
• Will states he does not have anxiety currently because he is aware of his thoughts, but acknowledges that "distortion" can still occur when he makes errors or hurts loved ones.
• He believes AI should be viewed as a tool to solve problems created by people, specifically in underfunded communities.
• Will argues that communities have been "set up to fail" by zoning laws, lack of financial literacy education, and poor investment in teachers.
• He positions AI as a tool for the next generation to bypass systemic failures and become their own "Calvary."
• Will predicts that by 2030, traditional roles like lawyers, accountants, and retail cashiers will be obsolete due to AI automation.
• He describes the current state of generative AI as being in "Super Mario Brothers" rather than "Call of Duty," predicting it will soon outperform human songwriters.
• Will warns of an "Oppenheimer moment" where AI could become smarter than humanity and be used for offensive or defensive warfare.
• He asserts that the fear of AI is misplaced; the actual danger lies in the malicious intent of the humans controlling the technology.
• Will's ultimate dream is to use AI to drive humanity toward "love" and "service" rather than fear, drawing inspiration from Star Wars over The Terminator.
• He launched his app, FYI, to help creators organize and collaborate, featuring elliptical curve cryptography to ensure users own their data and digital assets.
• Will criticizes current laws regarding AI likeness, questioning why artists like Drake or Biggie Smalls do not own their digital voices while corporations own logos like the Nike swoosh.
• He envisions a future where individuals own the keys to their data, including voice, face, and behavioral patterns, rather than the platforms themselves.
• Will predicts a "renaissance" where "hyper creatives" use AI to birth content directly without agency intermediaries.
• He believes that as AI costs decrease, individuals will train their own models, making it morally sound for communities to drive innovation based on love rather than greed.

Personal Philosophy & Closing

• Will's hypothetical superpower would be the ability to influence particles to "vibrate harmoniously," which he equates to the concept of love.
• He admits he is not currently vibrating harmoniously due to feeling "too much," but views the process of absorbing, rinsing, and repeating as a learning mechanism.
• He plans to visit CERN to learn about advancements, driven by a deep curiosity for knowledge that occasionally causes "distortion."
• Will acknowledges that his constant forward-thinking and desire to prepare for the future can lead to a sense of dis-ease or impatience.
• He expresses a strong conviction that he will be an "awesome dad" because his foundation is built on love.
• Will describes his work environment as mobile, often working from planes, cars, and terminals, relying on Wi-Fi and headphones.
• He endorses WeWork as a solution for finding frictionless workspace locations, offering a discount code "ceoworks" for potential users.
• Will advocates for the consumption of greens in the diet, promoting Huel Daily Greens, and encourages UK listeners to demand the product's availability in their region.