Intelligent Automation

The Future of AI Requires Humanity

Earlier this week, I finally got around to publishing some coherent thoughts about the state of artificial intelligence on Forbes. You should read it. It’s a little deeper than most of the stuff that’s hitting your newsfeeds. Here’s an excerpt:

In addition to what Microsoft is doing with ChatGPT and Google’s scramble to launch conversational search—a new ecosystem of applications built on readily available A.I.-fueled APIs is rapidly emerging. Of course, tech consolidation is inevitable, as we’ve seen during the Web 2.0 era—but even a consolidated intelligent tech stack is poised to transform business and work. A popular slogan in tech: “there’s an app for that”—is rapidly changing to “there’s an A.I. for that.”

Like many of you—I’ve been playing around with Generative AI via Dall-E and Chat GPT, and other apps. But this is all just scratching the surface. As I mentioned in my Forbes article—we’re at the beginning of a Generative AI arms race.

Web3 has a few key pillars holding it up. Blockchain, decentralized autonomous organizations, tokens, crypto, NFTs, and the Metaverse. But the strongest pillar of all is AI—as imperfect as it is—there are so many applications happening here and now that, in my mind, there is zero doubt that Generative AI will change our relationship with technology.

However, core to that relationship transformation is what I like to call “Intelligent Automation.” It’s my way of highlighting that automation is inevitable given the advances in AI, but it’s smarter and better when it includes human-machine collaboration. You’ll hear many lazy takes on AI taking our jobs… well it makes for a compelling story. But the truth is that AI is shifting our relationship with software. Think of software as something of a tool in our toolbelt. Our mastery of the software tool helps us get our jobs done.

But AI is less like a tool and more like having a partner on your project. And as far as partners go, they are dependable and hard-working but require guidance, direction, correction, and care. However, despite their shortcomings, this partner will let you do more, faster, and, dare I say, better.

That’s right. I said better. Do you know what ChatGPT is good at? It’s fucking great at ideation. Ideas that come to us in the shower, no matter how brilliant we are, are limited to our linear thought process. However, Generative AI platforms have the potential to put a brainstorm in our pocket. With a series of prompts that build upon the other, the ability to pose questions and refinements—ideas take shape like a river flows.

So really, it’s not fucking great at ideation as much as it’s fucking great at expanding your ideation.

And that’s smart. You could say, intelligent.

Generative AI is like adding jet fuel to the inevitable engines of automation. I featured a former Meta executive in my Forbes piece who described ChatGPT as a “calculator for writing.” That’s not far off. But looking more broadly at the potential of Generative AI, I’d describe it as a calculator for thinking. It is from our thoughts that all execution springs.

We have much to fear from automation. We also have nothing to fear. But you’re going to start seeing the impact of it on the software tools you use to do your work. A shortcut, a filter, a magical technique that transforms pictures into videos and videos into virtual worlds.

But it will take human-machine cooperation, collaboration, and a willingness to cohabitate to make it come to fruition. That’s where Intelligent Automation comes in. Because without humanity, AI falls flat. But with it… watch out.