A lot has been written about whether AI will replace humans and put us all out of work. It's easy to buy into that fear and assume that someday soon we'll be run by 'the machines,' not the other way around. AI, especially tools like ChatGPT, made a big splash in late 2022 and kept making headlines and inspiring think pieces.
If you came looking for someone to pour cold water on the AI hype, you've come to the wrong place. But I do think I can offer a slightly different view than the 'we're all doomed' story.
Summary
AI is changing work, but the article says human-centered AI development will make insight, judgment, and creativity matter even more. Rather than replacing people, AI may reward the people and businesses that learn to use it well. The piece compares AI adoption in the workplace to earlier tech shifts and says integrating AI into business will take time and testing.
Will AI replace humans?
AI was a big topic at the recent HubSpot Inbound marketing conference in Boston. Like many work events, nearly every workshop or panel mentioned AI.
One good point came from Meghan Keaney, vice president of marketing at Jasper, an AI content platform. Even though Keaney works at a tech company with AI in its name, she kept a calm tone in her talk during a session called, 'Supercharge website growth: What's new for web and content.'
'People are going to matter more in the age of AI,' she said.
It's a simple line, but at first glance it sounds odd. How can people matter more when tech seems to replace human thought with code?
What Keaney meant is simple: if everyone has the same or similar AI tools, real people with real views and real insight are what make brands stand out. In a sea of AI-made content, how do you make your story stand out? By putting your own voice and point of view first. AI and human creativity work best together.
Keaney is not alone. More and more people say that humans—and businesses—that know how to use AI well will be in a good spot.
AI adoption timeline
Take Karim Lakhani, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies workplace tech and AI. In an August 2023 interview with the Harvard Business Review (HBR), he compares what we see now with ChatGPT to the early web browsers of the 1990s.
If you're an older Millennial like me, you may remember the first time you used a web browser to get online. I can still remember using my parents' Gateway computer and installing Mosaic to visit Yahoo.com. It was a game-changer, and the web is still changing.
But the day after Mosaic came out, business did not change overnight. In fact, it took until the late 2000s—almost 30 years—for two-thirds of American businesses to have a website, according to a recent article in The Economist.
ChatGPT and other AI tools are the first big public release in this space. But it will take a long time to learn how to use them well and how to fold them into daily work.
For his part, Lakhani asks business leaders to embrace AI and let all employees try it. That's a good way to support AI tools for employees and see what works.
'Give them access to tools, figure out what use cases they develop, and then use that as a basis to rank and stack them and put them into play,' he said.
He, like Keaney, sounds calm about the role people will play as AI gets more common.
'What I say to managers, leaders, and workers is: AI is not going to replace humans, but humans with AI are going to replace humans without AI,' Lakhani said.
So I guess the next step is figuring out how AI can help you do your job more efficiently. For my part, I've been less than impressed by ChatGPT's writing. And yes, I've used very detailed prompts. But I'm slowly finding spots where AI can take some of the routine work out of my day. For example, instead of hunting for interesting emojis for a social media post, I ask ChatGPT for help. Instead of doing a Google search for blog ideas about trends in IT staffing, I ask ChatGPT for ideas. That's useful when I use AI for content marketing and other small tasks.
Is this changing how I do my job? Not yet. But it's the start of a shift, and the key is not to get left behind.
Q&A
Question: Does the article argue that AI will replace human workers?
Answer: No. It says AI will change how people work, not replace people. People who learn how to use AI well may gain an edge over those who do not.
Question: Why might people matter more in the age of AI?
Answer: When many businesses and professionals use the same AI tools, human insight, originality, judgment, and perspective become the key strengths. AI can make content and ideas, but people still shape the voice and meaning that help a brand stand out.
Question: What comparison does Karim Lakhani make about AI adoption?
Answer: Lakhani compares today's AI tools, like ChatGPT, to the first web browsers of the 1990s. Major tech can feel like a big shift right away, but the AI adoption timeline for broad business use and real integration usually takes years of testing and change.
Question: How does the article suggest businesses should approach AI?
Answer: The article says leaders should give employees access to AI tools and invite them to test ideas. By watching the real uses employees find, companies can spot the best options and put them to work.
Question: What are some practical ways the author currently uses ChatGPT?
Answer: The author uses ChatGPT for small work tasks like finding emojis for social posts and coming up with blog ideas about IT staffing trends. These uses are not huge, but they show how AI can start to cut routine work.
