Every time some new technology comes along, the drums of fear start beating.
Back in the 70s and 80s, we were told:
• Digital watches would ruin kids’ ability to tell the time.
• Calculators would stop them learning how to count.
• Personal computers would take all the jobs, there would be mass unemployment, and we’d never work again.
And yet here we are, 50 years on. I’ve got a laptop glued to me 24/7, and I’m working harder than ever.
People’s fears can run wild whenever change comes along, especially when they don’t understand it. People are comfortable with the status quo. It’s part of the human condition: if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
The book Who Moved My Cheese? was an eye-opener for me. It was the 90s, I was managing a local paper. One day, I moved a typesetter’s desk to another part of the office, it caused uproar. She couldn’t handle facing a different direction and demanded her desk be returned to its original position. At the time, I couldn’t see what the issue was, but for her, it was very real and she was not having it. Later, I read Who Moved My Cheese? and it all clicked into place, how to manage change, as people react differently.
And so AI is the latest “cheese mover”. It is just another step in our evolution. Some embrace it, many are non-plussed, and some have an unnatural fear of it.
I use AI in our business every day. It speeds up mundane tasks like spelling and grammar checking. I used to use Grammarly (an early AI that no one complained about), but now ChatGPT will check our marketing copy. It will do as I ask or suggest improvements. But here’s the thing: for our business, it’s a tool, not a replacement.
It won’t and can’t replace good people. We still drive to see clients face-to-face because many still want a conversation in a proper business setting, not a Zoom call. They don’t care about AI, they care about delivery and results. AI can’t shake a hand, read a room, or use gut instinct when needed in a boardroom setting.
But it is here to stay, and I’ll make a bold prediction: we will not lose millions of jobs because of it. If anything, it will create more jobs.
The UK population has grown by 11 million since the 1970s, and guess what? Most of us are still working, and working longer hours than ever. So what happened with all the new technology advances and the predictions of “we’re doomed, doomed!”? They fizzled into nothing.
Change has always come. AI is just the latest chapter.
If you’re scared of it, fair enough, but don’t ignore it. Try to embrace it if you can. The businesses who use it wisely will work faster, smarter, and more efficiently.
What we are going through is simply evolution.
In a few years’ time, something new will come along, and the drums of fear will start beating again, and AI will be forgotten about, just as no one argues about LED watches, calculators, or personal computers today.
