With the emergence of AI there seems to be a collective panic around any content-based job.
Whether it is recreating art or writing stories or music, the creative world is worried. Other industries besides are also lifting their eyes up and starting to feel the same. For example, legal and HR companies’ need for documentation is falling through the floor as just asking an AI form to do it is removing all the mystery.
Memories of Skynet and Terminator are running through the minds of the futurists as this new revolution gathers momentum. Even the tech elite are getting worried with a manifesto signed by Musk and Co. saying we need to put a halt to such developments. Why? Well, it’s because there appears to be no boundaries nor moral compass. Maybe the chaos we are seeing in our ‘progressive’ society is about to be accelerated by reproducing even more of the bias that databases are currently pulling on.
You see, AI represents a collective of information that the machine chooses from and then serves up as fact. Ultimately, AI is only as good as the draw of information it is provided with.
Will it speed tasks up? Well, yes, of course, but will it always be the source of truth? No. Our current search practices reveal that the best result AI finds is often a result of skilled SEO or ad spend.
The key thing to keep in mind with AI is that the information we have digitised doesn’t include ALL thoughts. While AI makes an informed guess about the future it certainly doesn’t write it. YOU DO.
Therein lies my point. You are in control. You can still take control. As complex as the data is, you have more than data intelligence to move on.
Like it was with Photoshop, you still needed a photographer to execute and you still needed an art director to bring stories to life.
Long overdue is the challenge to the rubber-necked developer who turns with the wave of yet another 10K offer on top of their salary. The recruiters delight, but actually, what we are seeing with AI is that the mercenaries of the code world have finally been played.
No code and an understanding of what people need makes for better products. NO more smashed code, technical debt and insane levels of bug testing!
If anything, consultancy is about to make a huge comeback and education around the principles behind clever code will be in demand.
For me, that is where things are getting exciting. Other worlds and areas are going to experience a comeback. Trades struggling to recruit talent once again offer a great place to work, aided by machines but not replaced.
Like in the print world where planners with rubylith film were once replaced by ‘straight to plate’ desktops, Mac, and scanning drums cut out by digital cameras, things have moved on.
Post Covid, nothing will ever be the same again and trying to be different makes zero sense. We are all being challenged to change, some for survival and others to embrace fresh, unexpected behaviours that ensure the old passes away and we embrace the new.
AI will change our lives and it is up to us to determine how. Change is the one constant that we need to firmly embrace and learn the principles to handle it.
You see it isn’t the tech we should celebrate for itself but rather the fact that the new tools can bring about and enhance change. And change should be for our betterment and for proving that an idea can run its course.
With the media on trial and social media being exposed, the way that we use the media has also changed significantly. Reading articles on a phone whilst being hammered by banner advertising makes people want to return to printed pages. Our imagination has been violated by the all too frequent screaming of advertisers, ‘Buy me!’
The goals of many hip, urban-dwelling entrepreneurs changed when cities became concrete prisons during lockdown. The commuters that had slowly accepted a 20 minute drive as a 1.5hr slug to get in for 9, eventually decided home was actually a zone that they wanted to stay in and work from.
Education that promised a piece of paper in exchange for thousands of pounds of regret on completion is being replaced by ‘education on your terms’. The knowledge economy has exploded and now the quest for a degree is in question.
In the midst of all this change there is a longing for the old: A migration to the countryside instead of living from the city; a move to home educate as the safety of hearts and minds is threatened; a switching off of noisy narratives that divide; and a return to the simplicity of meeting up face to face – talking, not texting.
In the midst of these crazy levels of change, the disruptors appear to be turning the clock back. What we thought had lost is being found again. The independent shops, the local church, the power of the pen, the serenity of quiet. Why? Because at heart, we all have the need to be human. Living on purpose is something found in the heart and not in a machine. Lockdown proved that without human connection we all suffer.
In our constant quest to discover new truths, it seems that we have lost the actual truth! I believe that we are entering a phase of living where the great progression experiment is failing and failing fast.
Family, friends and even faith are becoming a priority once again and while AI can aid us in some of the conversations it will never
replace what is to be human. A virtual world will not replace the splendour of the natural one, avatars will not remove our need for identity and adventure, and the bond of love will always conquer consumerism.
In a world that is ever complex, the new world is one less connected to tech, tools and being tested. We prefer the real stories, ones of connection, cause and championing one another.
So wherever you read this, why not consider going back to basics? Tell someone you love them, switch off your device and look up, go for a walk and start to live your life rather than be told how to. Pursue friendships and if you are brave enough, ask the voice beyond the stars to show you why you are here.
When you know your purpose, you process everything differently, AI, tech and change included. That is why I don’t fear it, I see how it can be used to help.
In a world that is looking to create an automated experience, you owe it to yourself and the generations that follow to make sure it is an engaging one. Assume the controls and don’t let anyone else tell your story. You are here to write your own! Don’t wait for permission to undertake your mission. Embrace it and make the necessary choices to deliver on it.
Make intelligent decisions and live an authentic life by aligning what is in your heart to what is in your hands