© All Rights Reserved 2021 - CCG Conscious Consulting GmbH
The blog post highlights that artificial intelligence (AI) is not just a technical or business challenge but a deeply human and leadership issue. It emphasizes the need to address the fears and uncertainties AI generates and encourages organizations and individuals to adopt AI thoughtfully while leveraging it to enhance human creativity, purpose, and potential.
Fear of the AI ghost
“AI is like a dangerous ghost hovering over us,” a customer recently described it during a phone call. Employees are fearful and concerned about the future of their tasks, jobs, and well-being. Where do we, as humans, fit into a world that is becoming increasingly artificial? Until now, physical spaces, food, and entertainment have become more artificial—less natural and original. However, now artificiality is also encroaching upon mental spaces, intelligence, and creativity, precisely the few areas that once seemed safe from this trend.
Our natural and habitual response to the unknown is fear. When we lack information, we tend to assume the worst and retreat to the only safe place we know: fear. However, the island of fear has an advantage: it allows us to remain passive, waiting in fear and hoping things won’t be as bad. Fear is always justified—how can we deny someone the right to be afraid? Especially when it involves an evil ghost: you can’t see it, you can’t feel it, you can’t fight it, you can’t negotiate with it; it is overpowering, everywhere, and threatens to deny us our right to exist.
Because the fear behind fear is becoming obsolete as humans, a no longer needed and outdated resource. If everything is convenient and works by itself while technology takes care of us, what will become of us then? The eternal promise of progress—where machines do all the heavy lifting, allowing us to sit back, enjoy life, and address the essential issues—is shifting from utopia to dystopia.
The fear of missing the AI train
Managers are also incredibly stressed; the FOMO – fear of missing out – is significant. However, it is virtually impossible for humans to track and follow all developments. AI is making immense strides, while we feel as if we are playing blind man’s bluff – blindfolded, we spin in circles trying to grasp someone, some information, or some constructive interaction. We are all groping in the dark dark.Who is using whom here?
Now, of course, there are the familiar arguments: technology itself is neutral; like any tool, it all depends on how you use it. On one hand, this is certainly true, but on the other hand, we are now facing a new phenomenon: AI is not only capable of being manipulated by us, but perhaps is it also designed to manipulate us and can further develop itself as self-learning entity, regardless of how we choose to use it?
Either way, we can, should and must deal with AI and its multiple aspects in the face of a diffuse situation that fluctuates between doomsday scenarios and promises of salvation, between fascination and fear and will probably lie somewhere in between.
The greatest opportunity of AI is to rediscover and strengthen the human factor
I believe that one of the greatest opportunities and challenges of AI is not just learning how to deal with AI but, above all, learning how to deal with ourselves! We are literally compelled and invited to ask ourselves existential and essential questions once again: Who are we as individuals? What are our most fundamental abilities, desires, and ideas? In what kind of world do we actually want to live, and how? How can we discover new and more creative ways to confront the fear of the unknown? What can we contribute, and how can we reclaim responsibility for ourselves and our lives? What does this specifically mean for companies and organizations, the places where most of our social and human life takes place?
Together with my client, we examined the problem in her organization in greater detail, and after asking a few questions, we concluded that dealing with AI is, to a lesser extent, a content-related, technical, and strategic problem, but to a greater extent, it is a human and, therefore, particularly a management issue. After all, how can an organization, a company, work sensibly and objectively on AI transformation and strategy if it is driven by fear and desire? How can I, as a manager, motivate others to engage constructively and positively with the opportunities presented by AI—such as improving the customer experience—when I myself am fundamentally afraid of losing significance and my job, and am confronted with unanswerable questions from the workforce?
How can we find a new way of dealing with the unknown?
So how can we find a new way to confront the unknown threat and rediscover our strengths, potential, and possibilities? What strategies can we use to tap into the discipline and willpower that frequently escape us in our fatigued society ? how can we avoid becoming easy targets for the fear monster constantly fed by social media, traditional media, and destructive conversations, which weaken our collective consciousness subconscious?
We asked ourselves these questions and more, and we as CCG developed some approaches and suggestions for my clients that I would like to share and explain below.
The objective is to cultivate a new mindset and foster powerful attitudes in response to new and uncertain developments and circumstances.
As humans, we tend to overestimate or underestimate problems and, especially when feeling anxious and insecure, think in extremes: we see ourselves in an either/or world. Either AI or us, either the young or the old, either the foreigners or us locals. This mindset radicalizes us and leads to exaggerated beliefs and extreme actions that often worsen the problem and further confirm our views. It’s a vicious cycle.
Instead, we could think in as-well-as positions: Firstly, in terms of integration, for instance, when the combination of AI and human activity creates something new, better, and different. Secondly, we should consider the possibility of simultaneity: some jobs may be greatly changed or even become obsolete, while others will remain relatively untouched, and entirely new tasks and job fields will emerge that we cannot yet imagine. For example, who would have predicted the job of social media manager 20 years ago? And who misses the job of coal shoveler?
One variant of extremism is the belief that we must be either optimists or pessimists about a topic. Optimists are delighted and fascinated by the endless possibilities of AI, while pessimists only focus on the dark side. Another perspective is the neither-nor position: a calm, relatively neutral stance that considers various possibilities and refrains from making any judgments for now, since we are usually unable to determine the effects of different factors. Maintaining this suspended assessment and tolerating the absence of a judgmental opinion can be a very productive approach to dealing with uncertainty.
The challenge with AI is that it encompasses not just a single topic but an entire universe we are about to enter and explore. We face the classic issue of “lots of opinions, little knowledge,” which only heightens the uncertainty. While it may not be easy, we can still strive to keep ourselves as well-informed as possible. Admittedly, I am not a recognized AI expert, so I read articles and listen to podcasts from individuals with expertise due to their qualifications and experiences. These experts not only approach the subject from a technical standpoint but also focus on understanding what all this means or could signify for us.
Spooky topics tend to feel less threatening when approached in a more specific way and when you gather reliable information from knowledgeable people, as much as that is possible.
Examining the content of AI tools helps alleviate fears of interaction. Gradually incorporating AI into daily life allows us to see how it can enhance and simplify our experiences, establishing a crucial foundation for acceptance.
I repeatedly used first Google translate and then Grammarly in this article to help find suitable titles and enhance my English writing, ChatGPT to find a better title. As a non-native speaker, this assistance is incredibly beneficial for me.
Currently, I refer to a phenomenon I call “unqualified fear and worry”: conjuring up scenarios (like losing our jobs) and then believe our thoughts. In truth, we lack sufficient information to experience informed fear.
Instead, we should consider: what do we actually know? What is certain? What remains uncertain? What are the facts? What past experiences can we recall where outcomes were not as dire? Which scenarios are plausible, and how can we get ready for them?
Qualified not-knowing is to inform ourselves as good as possible and being aware at the same time that we don’t know most things.
Most of the time we are afraid of the wrong things anyway, which 99% of the time don’t happen. But fear narrows our perception and limits our creativity, thus impairing our potential even before any evil has occurred.
“You get what you expect”. We create the future by imagining it and then making it more likely through our actions aimed at it. So, if the future is the result of our wishes and actions in the present, it is not necessarily predetermined; we have influence over it ourselves. Therefore, now would be a good time to think about it for yourself, as an organization, and as a society:
What kind of future do we want? Who is stopping us from creating it? What can we influence, and what can’t we?
I see great potential for organizations to engage in a dialogue with the question: Who do we intend to be? Apart from AI, what kind of organization do we want to build? What impact do we wish to have on the world, and how can AI assist us in achieving that? Therefore, we are not developing an AI vision, but rather a vision of our dreams, in which we humans create a world where we desire to live and work, fulfilling our needs for belonging, growth, and effectiveness.
Fear and feelings of powerlessness from superior forces (the specter that looms over us) often lead us to surrender and relinquish responsibility for ourselves and our fate. The suggestion is to take action instead of waiting and reclaim responsibility for our own lives. Actively confronting fears and worries, as outlined in the points above, and engaging in creative actions serves as the best remedy for fear-driven victimhood.
No matter how small we perceive our capacity for action to be, the key is to utilize it effectively and observe how fear gradually diminishes, allowing our ability to act to grow once more. Fears cannot be conquered, as they tend to consume fighting energy. However, fears cannot prevent us from taking action. action: the fear softens and slowly retreats.
Some resources are limited, like natural resources. Other aspects, like love, joy, intelligence, and creativity—whether artificial or natural—are limitless and infinite. Yet, we cling to the notion of cutthroat competition, believing we must now share the workload with AI. Who knows, maybe AI can also assist with the problems currently troubling us, such as labor shortages and the lack of skilled workers.
Could AI take on tasks for which there is a shortage of people or skilled workers? Perhaps AI will enhance many services, making them better and safer, rather than completely replacing them?
And maybe AI will also help improve cooperation between generations. For instance, I find it very beneficial when my 30-year-old colleague demonstrates the latest features of AI tools and uses Chat GPT to support consulting projects confidently. I learn from him, and I notice that the combination of his AI skills and my experience—what’s important, what we do with the information, etc.—positively influences our collaboration and the results.
Now, I believe we have arrived at the most crucial point: Are we humans truly so insecure and unsure of our abilities and worth that we live in constant fear of being displaced and replaced? Have we forgotten how wonderful and mysterious the human experience is and how limitless our potential can be?
Even if AI should someday become more intelligent than humans, when the so-called point of singularity—superintelligence—is reached, which will almost certainly happen, we need to discuss what type of intelligence we are referring to. It is possible that analytical abilities will surpass ours. (Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that digital fundamentally requires everything to be reducible to 0 and 1. 0 represents “no current flowing,” and 1 signifies “current flowing.” It is a world based on two states, which forms the basis of everything digital.)
However, many different forms of intelligence exist that extend far beyond what artificial intelligence can achieve. We possess social, emotional, spiritual, and intuitive intelligence, which is regarded as the highest form of intelligence. Of the vast amount of information our body collects through various sensors—our sense organs—only a very small portion, about 5%, is consciously perceived and processed.
We have a body that can absorb, process, and communicate information and data in a variety of ways simultaneously. If we learn to harness this ability, we can make extremely well-informed decisions that combine both rational and intuitive approaches. Studies indicate that the most significant discoveries made by Nobel Prize winners were often driven by intuition rather than cognitive reasoning. I highly recommend exploring this topic. I recently recorded a podcast with Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, an expert who has just published a book on this subject (can we recommend the podcast or the book, which is published in German?).
We are more than our intelligence
We can hug and comfort each other; we can look into each other’s eyes, connect, and touch one another on a spiritual level. We can form relationships with others, generate new ideas, and create a world that we love. We can cook, sing, dance, and laugh; we can suffer, cry, be happy, and experience the full spectrum of human emotions.
Business life is not just about intelligence, numbers, and economics; Business is made of Non-business ingredients and it thrives on the emotions, inspiration, intuition, and motivation of those involved—everything that defines our core. The more we embrace our humanity and strengthen our abilities in empathy, joy, creativity, and relationship management, along with our vision, the better equipped we are for the future and capable of handling whatever may come our way come.
Take the lead.
I believe it is crucial right now for you to consciously and actively engage with the suggested questions in your organizations. Predictions are challenging, particularly when they relate to the future. However, even if we cannot see the future because it has not yet come to pass, you can envision one that you prefer over the alternatives that may be presented to us.
I consider it a vital responsibility for managers, in particular, to gather their strength and take the lead by confronting their own worries and fears. By fortifying themselves and, alongside their colleagues, painting a desirable vision of their future, they can behave accordingly.
To conclude: Actions organizations can take now
© All Rights Reserved 2021 - CCG Conscious Consulting GmbH