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Foreign. Welcome to Leading Organizations that Matter, a podcast about leadership and how we find impact, meaning and joy in our work. I'm Ray Spadoni and today's topic is I don't hate AI. But first let me say that I use AI. I generate graphics with it to accompany my writing projects, I do research on trends, seek source references, and I look for creative ways to present data and business intelligence to my clients. If there's a curmudgeonly dimension to what I have to say about AI, it's this. I do not use it to write. Repeat, I don't use it to write. I can't say that I've never done so. It's just that I'm very committed to not doing so going forward. This is how it started for me. I run something I've written through copilot or chat GPT solely to have it cleaned up, punctuation fixed, that sort of thing. This was for me, a great and clear cut time saver. But then over time, the AI started making suggestions about ways I could strengthen the opening paragraph, for example, or close more strongly. It learned about me and how I write, the topics I cover, my style, how I think it did this on its own without my prompting. It started to engage me and I thought it was cool, so I engaged right back. Truth be told, a lot of its suggestions were good ones. I feel as though I decided to play at the edge of a waterfall without knowing I was at the edge of a waterfall. Eventually the current picked up and started to pull me over. I have been feeling as though I am being pulled over the edge with an increasing force, so why not just go with the flow you ask? After all, what an amazing tool we have at our disposal. Why not save time and let the computer do most of the heavy lifting? After all, this is just a continuation of a trend that began all the way back when printing presses and automobiles were invented. As a lot we humans are good at figuring out ways to increase effectiveness while upping efficiency at the same time. We innovate and this is always good for us, right? I mean, let's remember we are the same species that achieved the first sustained powered flight in 1903. And then only some 66 years later, we put men onto the moon. We move fast and AI is moving fast. A few years ago, this was barely on most people's radar. It certainly wasn't on mine. But now, today, so many of us use it for day to day tasks to simplify our work, to make us more productive, to improve our success and products are touting their AI capabilities, even when that's a stretch, even when it's just basic coding and logic arguments that are built into their software. But they don't want to be left behind or face a marketing disadvantage. So they describe everything they do as AI enhanced. Okay, sure, we, we got it. AI is in and of itself great, but if you're a company and you're not playing, you're going to have to take your ball and go home. So everybody's playing. So why am I personally pumping the brakes on using it? Why am I pursuing a no AI approach to writing? Why do I think it's time to back away from the edge of the waterfall? Well, there are five reasons, and here goes. Reason one in the Pixar animated movie the Incredibles, the villain chose to try to defeat his superhero adversaries in the film by using technology to create the illusion of superpowers. And his goal was to make these capabilities widely available. And then at one point he declared, when everyone is super, then no one is super, with a good movie sinister laugh thrown in for good measure. AI is making all of us into a capable songwriter, poet, novelist, graphic artist, analyst, photographer, musician, lawyer, doctor, coder, therapist, whatever. So how are those of us who want to elevate, to achieve, to differentiate and stand above the crowd? How are we to do so in this world? Well, I would argue that that's not going to be impossible. And I would even say it will become increasingly necessary. The way we deal with AI is to do things it can't or can't do. Well, I think this is doable and, and I for sure will be talking more about this in the future. Reason 2 I don't like being diminished. The more we rely on AI, the less we will be able to do ourselves. I used to read maps, and I always got a weird thrill out of charting a course across a great distance and then dealing with interruptions and unexpected changes all along the way. Now, a few decades of dependence on gps, well, that's made me a much less competent map user. Using AI for all the things it currently does and certainly will be able to do in the future will have the same effect on my ability to do things like write a compelling essay, and I don't want that to happen. Reason 3 and this is what I'm worried about. What is going to happen to all the jobs being replaced at record pace by AI? I, for one, miss dealing with humans. When I call a bank or an insurance company, I miss good old fashioned customer service. When I reach out to a retailer who sold me something that's broken. It's all an automated mess and we have to work hard and it seems harder all the time to find our way through the maze to some actual help, typically in the form of a carbon based life form. I myself, I've been trying to get this issue resolved with a company at a place where I used to work regarding a benefits account. And I've been working on this thing for two weeks and it's almost comical just how much of a moat that have built around themselves, all in the name of cost cutting. People are implementing tech solutions and AI fueled barriers so they can reduce their cost structure. They argue that this is good for us, the customer, but it's not. It definitely is not. And with the widespread disruption this is going to cause to knowledge workers, white collar folks what's going to fuel our economy, who will be able to buy stuff or pay for the work that's accomplished by others who are not so directly replaceable by AI people like plumbers and service workers. What is this going to do to our broader economy? I suspect that we'll adapt, but I believe it's going to be very messy and very painful in the meantime. Reason 4. All our intellectual capital, all our knowledge, all our personal je ne sais quoi, all our creativity, it all gets uploaded into a computer network when we use AI. I know that there are safeguards in place and all that, but frankly, I don't trust them. The same company that swore up and down that they would keep my data safe, only to tell me later that they've been hacked and now they'll give me some security tracking for free for a year for my trouble. That same company is saying, trust us, upload all your brain power onto our servers because we mean you no harm. Oh, and by the way, now that you're used to it and dependent on it, we're going to put the best of it behind a paywall so you have to cough up dough in order to keep using it? No thanks. These subscriptions are all just death by a thousand paper cuts as far as I'm concerned. And then finally, reason number five, isn't this all just like a basic integrity thing too? We are increasingly passing off work as our own that in reality has been augmented, or worse, completely created by a computer network. Maybe it's just me, but that feels icky. Okay, I know this episode makes me sound like the get off my lawn old guy, but I wanted to get this off my chest. And I know I'M going to get comments saying that, you know, I need to keep up with the latest and greatest, and that the horse is already out of the barn and all that. But I am feeling as though caution is prudent at this point. When it comes to AI as a value, as a statement, I think authenticity is important. So I'm slowing down my use of AI big time. I describe that as my quest, as my vision, and as my hope. So we'll see how it goes. I'll be sure to keep you posted and I would love to hear your feedback. Thanks for listening. Leaving a positive review and letting others know about this podcast will help a great deal. My mission is to help empower organizations that matter by supporting those who lead them. I offer coaching, mentoring and consulting services. You can learn more about me and my work at Race bodoni. Com.