It seems like the year has begun with AI taking up more time and space in boardrooms, conferences and the media than I can ever remember.  Without wanting to cast myself as a pitchfork-wielding luddite, the tone of the AI debate does concern me greatly. 

I sincerely hope that in 20 years I'll be spending my afternoons playing chess, reading the latest whodunnit, and looking out over the sea reflecting on nerdy things like the marvel of heat pumps, the intricacies of transport policy, and why on earth John Lewis in Tunbridge Wells didn't work. But I do worry for my daughters and humanity at large.

Here’s some advice:

https://youtu.be/iJf1iqfpftE

1. Don't make yourself useless.

2.  Never lose sight of the fact that your superpower is most likely to be your human ability to understand the process of the work. 

3. Be wary that the pursuit of efficiency (closely related to laziness) doesn't temper your enthusiasm for creativity, valuable accidental discoveries (like Marmite) and unexpected learnings

4. Stay open minded. I might be completely wrong. Used correctly, AI could be the next big thing for growth, productivity and creative innovation. But I have my doubts that humanity will ever be able to resist the temptation and pitfalls of using AI as a shortcut to ok but not exceptional results.

Don’t miss Rory in conversation with John Roberts on the Factory Stage in partnership with Havas on 26 Feb. Click HERE for the agenda.