First We Make the Tool – Then the Tool Makes Us

 

I paraphrases McLuhan paraphrasing Churchill. Both knew something about shaping human consciousness. Half a century ago we began an extraordinary experiment by making the personal computer widely available. With Agentic AI, we’re entering a new phase. What would McLuhan & Churchill say?

The Strange Case of Norway

In 2016, Norway gave every child in the country their own iPad or similar digital device. Today Norway is restricting and/or banning digital devices from primary schools. Their rationale: declining literacy & cognitive ability, distraction & reduced focus, and declining social & mental health.

Are we not running a version of Norway’s experiment in private & public organizations around the world? There are two hypothesis in play here:

1.     IF we provide our people with AI tools, THEN we’ll create value – smarter innovation, better processes, higher productivity & quality, happier team members & customers.

2.     IF we do not do this, THEN we’ll fall hopelessly behind.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

First we make the tool, then the tool makes us. How does AI make us? On the plus side, AI saves time & effort. In earlier blogs I’ve described how AI agents can free us from the tyranny of the ‘How,’ so we can concentrate on the ‘What.’  I’ve described how AI agents enable our innovation sprints, freeing us up to focus on the ideal product, service, and customer experience.

Will AI & AI agents degrade our ability to think & to create?

Will we see a repeat of Norway’s experience in our public & private organizations? AI is a boon to lazy, dishonest, and unimaginative. Why write, draw, compose, imagine something when you can steal it? We’re seeing AI’s devastating effect on creator economies. Will art & creative endeavour become extinct? It’s no longer an unimaginable question.

There are notorious Tech execs, for example, who boast about ‘gamifying’ music creation. Why play an instrument when you can scrape all the music ever created, pour it in into the gaping maw of your AI, and charge a monthly fee for access? ‘Making music is too hard,’ a Tech Socrates opined recently. ‘You have to learn an instrument & scales, and you have to practice. Our app makes it really easy.’ A similar process is unfolding for essays & other long-form writing, journalism, graphic arts, novels and short stories, and film.

Use It or Lose It

AI & AI agents can make us stupid. How to sustain our edge? Do it yourself – with the help of your AI assistant. Building on earlier articles, we must recognize that AI agents are akin to the big blue Genie in Disney’s Aladdin. They're capable of handling the ‘How’ but hopeless at the What & Why, which is where humans excel. In my view the centaur metaphor – human + machine – remains optimal.

Humans should therefore focus on the What & Why, which includes building alignment around a shared vision, and on deploying the plan to the front line. Humans must build the management system that enables fluid responses to emerging issues, and the front-line capability needed to continually solve problems.

We should engage our big blue Genies in the How, where they excel. And we must continually exercise our cognitive muscles by solving strategic management problems as they arise. The OpEx/Lean and Innovation fundamentals described in my blog, and books remain valid and essential. We just have an eccentric but highly capable new team member to help us.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org