Will distinguishes you from AI
How not to be replaced
AI brings many changes in a short amount of time. In the last twelve months we have seen already drastic changes to how people work.
AI partially takes over jobs and roles, or even replaces people in vulnerable jobs like customer support.
People wonder, where does AI stop? Can AI do everything that people can do? If you’re an engineer, a manager or in any other role, you wonder, am I safe?
You might also think, what is left that makes me valuable? What is the value I add? How can I stay relevant in the future?
This boils down to the question, what distinguishes me from an AI?
It can’t be knowledge. In the context of AIs we can categorize knowledge as wide or deep. Wide knowledge is knowing how ZIP codes in China look. Something an AI shows to be much better than you. Deep knowledge is knowledge that only a few persons have or a few specialized companies have and that hasn’t leaked (yet?) to an AI. Although the second part can distinguish you from an AI, it’s hard to get and keep.
It can’t be skills when you’re not working with your hands. An AI has a much broader set of skills and is also often better at it because it can apply many different skills at once.
It can’t be work. An AI is much faster doing the work, creating texts and source code, summarizing information and suggesting decisions than you can ever be. Another aspect: It is not bored to do long tedious and boring work.
The question remains: What distinguishes you from an AI?
There is one thing that distinguishes you from an AI: Your will.
AIs don’t have a vision or a will. AIs don’t want things. AIs live in the now, not in the future.
You have a will and a vision for the future. Know what you want is distinguishing you from an AI.
Sadly many people I meet do not have a vision or a clear will on what they want1. When asked, they might say “everything is fine”, or “I’m happy” or “I don’t know what I want.”
There is a book called “The Neverending Story”. It has two parts. In the first part, the protagonist Bastian saves a fictional world called Fantasia. If people know the book or the film, this is often what they know. The second, much more important part, is more obscure. After saving the world, Bastian gets a medallion which says “Do what you want”. And Bastian, does what he wants - even becoming the king. After a lot of pain and his downfall, he understands “Do what you want” does not mean “Do whatever fancies you” but “Find out what you really want and then do it.”
Many people I meet are like Bastian. They don’t really know what they want. They have no vision or will.
What distinguishes you from an AI, is your will and vision. If you lack this, think about it. What do you want? What do you want to achieve? Articulate what you want and then get what you want. Don’t be an AI.
This is also true for companies - they don’t have intent. Read about intent and companies at The Intentful Company