Leadership in an AI obsessed world.

I was doing this test yesterday, which is quite common nowadays where with your camera and mic and motion sensor turned on your laptop the testing algorithm decides if you are doing the test as per the laid-out conditions so that the accuracy of the analysis improves as per the database available with the testing algorithm.

Another two interesting examples also caught my eye while I was thinking about the same.

In 2022, The Synthetic party was established as Denmark’s newest political party. Its leader is a chatbot called Lars. Potential voters can speak to Lars on voice, video and chat platforms. The party wants Lars to speak to as many people as possible and then use the data collected to create a new benchmark for politics. While this sort of data collection is common in a lot of places a chatbot becoming the leader was for the first time.

The Chinese company Net Dragon Websoft creates multiplayer online games. The games that it creates operates in the metaverse. Recently the company appointed a robot Tang Yu as its CEO. The expectation of the company is that the new CEO will be able to drive organizational efficiency. Further the company also expects the new CEO to play a critical role in the development of talents and ensuring a fair and efficient workplace for all employees.

As every organization tries to use AI to get a head start in their fields there are a few driving factors which alter the decision making which are as follows:

With every transaction and movement that we all do being converted and captured as a data point the amount of data that is generated daily is unimaginable. What makes AI stand out is its ability to learn from and act on these ever-increasing amounts of data and create capsules for us to look at and understand these interactions better. Since this is something which the intelligent human brain does, hence the name of Artificial Intelligence. But we need to keep in mind we still have a miniscule idea about how the human brain functions and about the power of the human brain.

Improving organizations innovation potential and competitiveness

Perhaps one of the biggest drivers like any new technology which comes in is its capability to increase productivity. The improved productivity will give key members time to focus on more creative and new challenges. This improves the competitiveness of the organization compared to others in the marketplace.

The economics of adopting AI is becoming more favorable

Like all things as things scale up their costs also propositionally come down. The good thing favoring AI is that most of the technology being created in AI is open source and hence anyone interested can develop further on the same. The second factor working in its favor is cheaper cloud models and reduced bandwidth costs associated with staying connected with the cloud.

Perhaps the biggest challenge that any leader needs to overcome is the objective for adopting this technology.

The first perspective is that AI is an increasingly cheap way to replace people and achieve new levels of productivity and efficiency.

The second perspective is that like all other technologies earlier AI is a powerful tool to augment but does not replace human intelligence and unlocks more innovation and creativity in its workers.

Imagine a world where AI doesn’t take over but works alongside us—helping a writer brainstorm idea, a designer refines concepts, or a doctor diagnose faster and more accurately and to a wider audience. In this perspective, technology enhances our strengths, freeing us to focus on what we do best: thinking critically, building relationships, and imagining possibilities beyond the limits of algorithms.

In the present scenario the major inclination is today’s perspective one which is the challenge facing all organizations and leaders.

As we stand at the crossroads of AI adoption, the choice between replacement and augmentation isn’t just a technological decision and should never be treated as one.

AI's potential to replace humans might promise efficiency, but it risks eroding the essence of creativity, empathy, and human connection that define us. On the other hand, using AI to augment human creativity and productivity opens doors to a future where innovation thrives through collaboration between minds and machines.

The question isn’t about fearing AI but about designing its role thoughtfully. When we embrace augmentation, we choose empowerment over displacement. We choose to use AI as a partner that elevates our skills rather than a competitor that renders them obsolete.

What do you think? Should we strive for augmentation, or is there value in a world of replacement? Share your thoughts—I’d love to hear your perspective.

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