Are we better as Excel (vibe) managers, or as poets?

Finding purpose in the age of algorithms

Young people are having a hard time breaking into some industries, as many functions that a junior used to perform are now handled by AI. And when they finally do make it, many don't really know how to work or add value to the business.

If you are making a dress or writing an article, it's relatively easy to measure the success of your day – you’ve either produced something, or you haven't. But many roles in modern companies seem disconnected from business operations or from goods that actually bring value to customers, let alone society.

Like aristocratic children once needed to know how to play piano, do embroidery, and speak Latin, among other (questionable) things, we are now expected to vibe with Excel and AI, "fail fast," and be OK with it.

A lot of what some people do is starting to resemble some sort of busy work. You don't necessarily need people to work, yet you give them tasks just so they are occupied.

Have you ever asked a junior person to do something for you and had them come back to you with an answer spit out by ChatGPT for you to comment on? Outrageous. And it happens way too often.

Should we tell those people to use their brains a little, or is that the new reality of how we're all going to be using our brains real soon?

This past week, we delved yet again into the topic of AI changing the landscape of the modern workplace.

We talked about middle managers, often referred to as "useless pen pushers." Do we need them anymore if AI can automate the majority of things that they used to do?

It's not that simple, though. Even where AI simplifies some things by making routine tasks disappear, those managers then have to orchestrate hybrid teams of humans and algorithms.

The technology needs constant checks, calibration, and audits. For employees, work becomes more demanding than ever – they’re constantly told to fail fast and be OK with it.

So, what they need is a true leader who can manage their expectations, provide motivation, and simply lift their spirits.

As Adi Gaskell puts it, no algorithm can provide such leadership. (Can people, though?)

And our algorithmic overlords seem to be out of control – at least in the eyes of those scientists who started working on artificial intelligence (AI) because they believed in the good it could bring to humanity.

In a recent and most curious case, a top researcher, who was working on understanding AI sycophancy, developing defenses against AI-assisted bioterrorism, and learning how AI assistants could distort humanity, quit Anthropic.

“The world is in peril,” said Mrinank Sharma, and resigned to… write poetry.

Should we worry less or more? Entrepreneur Matt Shumer drew parallels between downplaying the risk of coronavirus in 2020 and current skepticism about AI. He went viral on X, saying we’re in the “this seems overblown” phase that resembles the discourse around Covid-19, yet is much bigger.