Want smarter insights in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get only what matters to enterprise AI, data, and security leaders.<\/em> Subscribe Now<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The world loves AI. Nearly 1 billion people are using OpenAI products \u2014 and it happened in just two years. It\u2019s the Silicon Valley playbook: Make it great, make it cheap, get us addicted, then figure out how to make billions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We love AI because it offers cognitive shortcuts at a whole new scale. But\u2026 this won\u2019t end well for most of us. We\u2019ll let AI take over a few tasks, and soon find it\u2019s doing all of them. We\u2019ll lose our minds, our jobs and our opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it doesn\u2019t have to happen this way. Here\u2019s how to see the path ahead \u2014 and take a different one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In March 2023, I used ChatGPT for the first time. Now I use ChatGPT or Claude every day. AI has made my brainwork faster and more productive. But I am also getting cognitively lazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AI Impact Series Returns to San Francisco – August 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The next phase of AI is here – are you ready? Join leaders from Block, GSK, and SAP for an exclusive look at how autonomous agents are reshaping enterprise workflows – from real-time decision-making to end-to-end automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secure your spot now – space is limited: https:\/\/bit.ly\/3GuuPLF<\/p>\n\n\n\n I used to have to check AI\u2019s drafts thoroughly. But now, it gives me a good first draft 90% of the time, and I\u2019m losing the motivation to check its work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A year ago, I thought the workforce would divide into \u201cthose who don\u2019t use AI\u201d and \u201cthose who do.\u201d Now I see that\u2019s wrong. In five years, everyone will use AI. The real divide will be between those who manage their AIs \u2014 and those who outsource their thinking to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Humans have always offloaded cognitive work. Before books, bards memorized Homer\u2019s entire Iliad. Now technology is an extension of our brains, enabling us to offload math, navigation and note-taking. You start using it for more complex tasks, like setting strategy. You start depending on AI to do the work, and slowly, your skills atrophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon released a paper showing gen AI can reduce our critical thinking ability. When knowledge workers are confident in AI\u2019s output, they\u2019re less likely to use their own brains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People who trust AI (like me) rely on themselves to be its fact-checker. But there are two problems with that: 1) We overestimate our ability to identify AI\u2019s mistakes, and 2) The temptation to skip fact-checking gets stronger.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the next 10 years, the knowledge workforce will divide into two groups: AI drivers and AI passengers.<\/p> AI passengers <\/strong>will <\/strong>happily delegate their cognitive work to AI. They\u2019ll paste a prompt into ChatGPT, copy the result, and submit it as their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Short term, they will be rewarded for doing faster work. But as AI operates with less human oversight, passengers will be judged as surplus for adding nothing to AI\u2019s output.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI drivers<\/strong> will insist on directing AI. They\u2019ll use AI as a first draft and rigorously check its work. And they\u2019ll turn it off sometimes and make time to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Long term, the economic divide between these groups will widen dramatically. AI drivers will claim a disproportionate share of wealth, while passengers become replaceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make yourself AI\u2019s boss in these ways:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n With AI you now have a thought partner who\u2019s available 24\/7 and has \u201cexpertise\u201d on any topic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you\u2019re also at a crossroads. You\u2019re going to see many colleagues opt out of \u201cactive thinking\u201d and outsource their decision-making to AI. Many won\u2019t even realize their cognitive skills have atrophied until it happens. And by then, it\u2019ll be hard to go back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be this person. Use AI to challenge and strengthen your thinking, not replace it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question isn\u2019t, \u201cWill you use AI?\u201d The question is, \u201cWhat kind of AI user do you want to be: driver or passenger?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Shove is the CEO of Section<\/em>.<\/p>\n Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily<\/strong><\/p>\n If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\tThanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n An error occured.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>The beginning of the end<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n<\/div>How outsourcing degrades our thinking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
AI drivers vs. passengers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to be an AI driver<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Your mind is a terrible thing to waste<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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