Staying relevant in the Age of AI
I used to travel quite a lot for business & design workshops, bringing up discussions on Innovation, Behavioral Design and Futures Thinking to different organizations in Brazil. But it seems that in a couple of years most of those trips will be gone: some properly-trained model might create a digital version of myself to do this job — from briefing with customers to delivering the workshop itself. It sounds amusing, right? At the same time, it also looks like there is something missing: how are we going to keep ourselves relevant amid such tech advances?
Since the first teaser videos for ChatGPT-4 came to public, I’ve been thinking a lot about generative AI— specially how it is already disrupting my own “work niches,” in digital product.
For years, people worried about cashiers and taxi drivers being replaced by such algorithms. The answer to keeping oneself professionally relevant then was focusing on careers leaning on creativity and other (traditionally) unique human skill. However, it turns out that AI is coming for those of us who work on computers creating different kinds of content — from articles to images to entire websites and applications. Professional-level art, design projects, original copywriting — the output from services as ChatGPT, DALL-e and Midjourney easily outperform the one from millions of intellectual workers out there. All of a sudden (well, it actually took OpenAI 7+ years), many of those skills have been commoditized.
Intellectual skills as commodities?
Everything that can be commoditized, will. And the reason is simple: AI is faster, cheaper, and more reliable than humans (in terms of outcome quality and consistency, for example). The cost savings and efficiency gains offered are simply too significant for companies to ignore. And even in cases where outputs may be inferior, it is just a matter of time for some startup around there to announce a new model that excels on the job.
As Dorie Clark mentions,
That’s very bad news for anyone who’s operated up to this point as the "low-cost choice" or the handy, local, "good enough" option.
Nonetheless, there’s one category of professionals who aren’t likely to be displaced any time soon: recognized experts.
Personal branding matters
AI is new, but the social mechanisms behind it aren’t. By the XIX century, a legion of crafstmen and craftswomen produced all sorts of furniture, clothes and equipment. Some were obviously better than others. Almost two centuries later, most of those items have been standardized into massive production lines. But not every craftsperson is out of business:
The average and the low-cost were supplanted by the reliability and cost savings of the chain stores – just like AI will do the same for commodity providers of intellectual services. But some craftspeople...are thriving. The ones who have succeeded - wildly, beyond what they could have imagined a century ago - are the ones who are recognized as "best in class." The ones whose brand is so strong, people will pay a premium to say, "I bought it from them." As I look over at my tiger cat napping on my Eames lounge chair, I know that's true. (Clark, 2023)
The economy is changing, and there's a huge amount of uncertainty in the marketplace. Inflation, recession, AI - no one knows what's going to happen, or the exact timeline. But we don't have to wait and just let things happen to us. When we make a conscious effort to become a recognized expert in our company or in our field - to ensure others understand and value the contribution we can make - it's the best form of career insurance one can develop. We can take control of what we can control and plan for the future.
Your personal brand is how you present yourself to the world. It’s what people think of when they hear your name or see your work. Your brand should be authentic, consistent, and memorable. It should reflect your values, your personality, and your expertise. When you have a strong personal brand, people are more likely to remember you and recommend you to others.
Based on this, Clark & Chamorro-Premuzic emphasize:
GPT-4 and other AI technologies are prodigious researchers that can summon a cavalcade of facts almost instantly. Unfortunately, some of those facts aren’t true — a form of the “hallucinations” that have, heretofore, plagued AI. Thus, while AI is an extraordinarily valuable tool, it can’t always be trusted to deliver accurate results — at least at this point. That’s why it’s so valuable to develop recognized expertise in your field. Even if AI performs “first draft” functions, it still has to be double-checked by a trusted and reliable source. If that’s you, you’ll continue to be sought out because you have the authority to vet AI’s responses.
Further reading
Clark, D.; Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2023). 5 Ways to Future-Proof Your Career in the Age of AI. HBR, April 25th.
Clark, D. (n.d.) Recognized Expert self-assessment toolkit.
Dos Santos, T. R. (2023). Product Managing with ChatGPT: top prompts to leverage AI into you product strategy.
McKinsey Explainers. (2023). What is generative AI? January, 19th.
Morris, C. (2023). IBM is pausing hiring on jobs that could be replaced by AI. Fast Company, May 2nd.
Wikipedia. (n.d.) Hallucination (artificial intelligence).
Wolfe, M. (2023). [Video]. A Massive Upgrade To ChatGPT! (This is Crazy).
