It’s no small secret that within the next decade or so, we will have to learn how to coexist with artificial intelligence. Maybe you are already making that adaptation, learning how to prompt these models, and rewriting what it prints out.
At Disruption Advisors, we’ve been having ongoing talks about the best way to invite AI into our workplace, metaphorically – where their cubicle is, meeting colleagues, ironing out exactly what the job role looks like for them.
When we started that process, our podcast team jumped in feet first—but we got cold feet, too. Well, our producer did. ChatGPT and the words newsletter, podcast, and automation appeared in the same sentence, and I could tell Alex was worried.
I’m sure many of you reading this have felt some version of this, with AI or not. Alex said it himself during our brainstorming session – AI would undoubtedly cut down on the amount of time it took him to write, for example, those introductions and closing thoughts on each episode of Disrupt Yourself. It was indisputable that it would save time, period.
But this is where defining your new virtual coworker’s role comes in. Sure, AI could get close to what Alex spins out for the podcast, but it wouldn’t help the show if we only get close. The final product suffers when we cut corners – thinking AI’s got it– and Alex’s feeling of unique contribution suffers, too.
Getting close to perfect isn’t in ChatGPT’s job description—for Alex, getting it perfect is his job. He’ll say it himself; it’s where he finds meaning in a nine-to-five.
This is what coexisting with AI looks like. It comes down to picking apart your workflow and determining what, non-negotiably, needs the human touch. And then it’s reinforcing with your team that their contribution is that human touch, saying – hey, as your leader, the person who’s making decisions around that workflow, I value your uniqueness above cutting corners. Saying it out loud is the first step to welcoming our new virtual coworkers and the disruption they bring.
If all this talk of robots and the future has you wondering what exactly being human means, you’re in luck. Last week, we released a redux of an older episode with Brooke Romney, all about that little voice in our head that compares us to others – and now, to machines. How do we take back our humanity and quit the rat race?
And if that’s not enough, there’s also my talk with Donald Miller two weeks ago. Donald’s big into the power of writing your own story, not just prompting an AI to churn out what it thinks your story should be, but really digging into what makes you tick and building out from that map.
As always, thank you for being here and for bringing your humanity to the table every day!
My best,
Whitney
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