Is AI Really Replacing You?

Not a chance (unless you let it).

AI can write song lyrics because it knows statistically how to put words together. 

AI can write software because it knows statistically how to put words (syntax) together.

But AI has no purpose. It has no meaning. It has no desire (other than incentives we give it). It has no responsibility. It has no will. It doesn’t decide a problem needs a solution. It doesn’t care about risk. It doesn’t care about judgment. It doesn’t care about status. It doesn’t get tired, or excited, or nostalgic. 

AI has helped me be more productive, but at a very personal level, and marginally. Me with a power saw instead of a hand saw. Not at an organizational level. 

As the leader of a startup, I’ve been trying over the last year to figure out how AI can help me in the areas in which I’m deficient. I’m open. I’m a good guinea pig. I’d really like it to. 

Bottom line is it hasn’t helped me replace anything wholesale yet. Not really. Maybe it won’t, either. It has helped me do some things with words and research. Like the power saw gets me through the wood faster. But is it better?

AI isn’t gonna take over the world. It’s not gonna kill us all for its own benefit. It’s not gonna replace you or me. 

Unless, of course, you let it. 

But that’s no different than letting the younger and hungrier colleague replace you.