There is a lot of talk right now about how artificial intelligence (A.I.) tools are affecting “worker productivity.” The hype is extreme, the opposition is hyperbolic, and the truth is somewhere in the middle.
It’s true that many A.I. tools like ChatGPT and the new Bing are very useful for a variety of basic tasks such as getting questions answered and helping to draft (mediocre) social media posts. While they are a long ways from replacing a human entirely, they can fake it pretty well and that’s got a lot of people in a panic.
I’m not here to preach for or against A.I. tools. You need to actually use them for yourself to decide how helpful, good, or bad they are. What is inescapably true however is that the A.I. era is here and is changing the rules of productivity every hour of every day.
What matters is, we are seeking significance…The idea that there is going to be an assembly line and it is going to churn out the same thing day after day after day for the entire career is long gone. Once we can write down the job that needs to be done, we are probably going to get a computer to do it cheaper than you. So what’s left are the jobs we can’t write down, what’s left is who is able to bring humanity to the table. ~ Seth Godin, Akimbo Podcast
It’s not quite happened but what I expect to see in the upcoming year is for people to start questioning what “productivity” actually means for humans. Seth Godin, a marketing and business guru I’ve followed for years, recently discussed this on his podcast. His latest book is focused on this concept entirely: What is the value of being able to churn out a lot of “product” if computers can do it just as well and twice as fast and never sleep?
I wrote about the Death of Hustle Culture recently, and that is worth a read to get a glimpse of our A.I. future, and it includes a great exercise for helping you to brace for that.
This post is a bit more of a philosophical take on it.
In our modern society we have been taught since childhood that our intrinsic value is not actually intrinsic. We have “make a living,” not simply live. We have to be our jobs — “what do you do?” not “what do you enjoy?” We have to produce scores (grades, credit ratings, income) to validate our very existence, and we have to “be productive” because to be unproductive is to be worthless.
It’s terrifying the stress those kinds of expectations put on us, but were so used to them that considering alternatives is also terrifying.
Who am I, if not the summation of what I have produced, earned, and scored in this life?
Which means, if a computer program and/or robot can out produce, out earn, and out-score us then we must be intrinsically worthless, with no hope of salvation. I don’t mean in a religious sense (you’re on your own, there!) but in a social one.
A reckoning is happening, whether you want it to or not.
For the record, I’m not keen on it either! I plan to give you some tools to deal with the neigh inescapable existential fear we are all experiencing, which require you to consider this era of sea change as a call to action to focus on the uniquely human attributes and qualities that set us apart from machines (at least for now!): our creativity, our compassion, our ability to dream and innovate.
I want to give you four approaches to address your concerns about AI and shift your perspective from “we are what we produce” to “we are who we are.” They are a bit more meditative than actionable, but then, I think that’s the whole mood of this post. We’ve got to put a bit of effort into our mindset than we are used to. I think it will be worth it:
- Develop Emotional Intelligence: Strengthening your emotional intelligence, which is your ability to understand and manage your own emotions as well as to understand (and have compassion for) those of others. This is a distinctly human skill that A.I. cannot replicate at the moment, and even in the future there will be a place for distinctly human interaction.
- Prioritize Innovation: Foster innovation in both your business and personal life. A.I. can optimize and automate, but it can’t match human ingenuity. Don’t just think outside of the box, try thinking like no box even exists!
- Focus on Your Self-worth: Remember, you are more than your productivity! Take time to celebrate your accomplishments, focus on personal development, and nurture relationships. Your self-worth should be based on who you are as a person and a leader, not just on what you produce or how full your calendar is (or your credit rating, for that matter).
- Leverage A.I.: I know, this is the most contentious suggestion on this list. But raging against the machine is pretty pointless at this stage of the game (rage against systemic oppression, though; never stop!). Rather than fearing AI, use it as a tool to improve and streamline the things only you can do, freeing up time for you to focus on more strategic and creative aspects of your life.
When we think of significance, we often think of historical role models, people who did something that made a major difference or undeniable contribution to society (that cuts both ways, because there a lot of truly evil people who were significant in their own times, but let’s stay on the optimistic side today). But significance is a call we feel deep inside, and it is something that is far more profound than our ability to make a widget or write sales copy. Find the connections and the purpose that are fulfilling for you, and call upon your inner drive for significance.
Rinse, repeat.
The A.I. revolution isn’t going anywhere but forward, so stop waiting to get flattened by it and start building a life filled with significance, purpose, and humanity.