“Tools are extensions of our abilities; mastery transforms them into allies.” 

– Jackie Morgan

So much has been written about using AI as a tool to do our day-to-day tasks. And I bet you’re using some form of AI every day.

 

That Netflix recommendations you see on the TV. Or that surge pricing on your favorite ride sharing app. That’s AI.

 

It’s only been less than 3 years since the release of ChatGPT. Yet thousands of news articles have been written about how AI will replace jobs in 2025 and beyond. Bill Gates on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Falon stated that AI will replace most human jobs in 10 years.

 

You’ll find thousands of social media posts with even more comments on how people are affected by this. From reduction of work hours to layoffs. From AI replacing repetitive work to completely eliminating it. What makes it worse is that more and more AI-startups are popping up like mushrooms all around the world.

 

I did a keynote speech a few weeks back on how anyone can prepare for the new era of an AI-driven world. The audience were technical professionals. And while they interact with AI everyday, they’re not exempted from the threat of this technology.

 

I’ve had my fair share of fear mongering early on in life.

 

My parents told me that I would never land a decent job without a degree. In college, my professors told me that industrial automation would eliminate the jobs we were going to school for.

 

I’ve seen how globalization had a huge impact in the job market. Chip manufacturer Intel moved their manufacturing plant to Vietnam and China after the global economic crisis.  That’s after being in the Philippines for 3 decades.

 

I’ve also seen how any new technology can become a threat to existing jobs. Remember those telephone switchboard operators?

 

Seeing how markets and economies shift throughout the years, I knew that what I can do will be replaced by whatever new technology is available. It’s inevitable.

 

And while new technology can often come off as delusional, obsolescence is real. Just like getting old.

 

So, instead of pretending that technology – or AI – is never going to eliminate my job, I make the assumption that it will. Even worse, it already did. And even if it has not happened yet, it’s only a matter of time.

 

Accepting this reality is what made me commit to continuous personal development. Other than the fact that I enjoy figuring out how things work, it helps hedge against obsolescence.

 

Hedging against obsolescence is a proactive approach. It means you have to be actively doing something. Not just passively waiting for something to happen before you react.

 

And herein lies one of the many things that AI cannot do for you. I’ll list down 3. Because that’s how much I can easily remember.

 

AI Cannot Be Proactive

 

Like any man-made technology, AI needs input. The prompts. The training data. The models.

 

Technology is primarily reactive. It needs input to provide output. It cannot do anything on its own. Humans have to design and build it. We need to provide the input input. And the quality of the output depends on the quality of the design and the input.

 

Just like the automobile. It needs fuel. And a driver. Even autonomous vehicles need sensor input. Remove any required input and you have nothing.

 

There are so many cases of smart systems where the technology managed to do something that ordinary humans could not. Like the Apple Watch detecting a possible heart attack. Technology still rely on input. Technology is still reactive.

 

We humans have the capability to be proactive. We have the ability to change our present if we don’t like it.

 

Don’t like the movie you’re watching? Switch to a different one.

 

Don’t like the new pair of shoes you’re wearing? Get another pair.

 

Being proactive is so natural to us as humans.

 

However, given our overdependence on technology, we hand over our ability to be proactive to the very technology we invented.

 

I’m not exempted from this.

 

I use AI tools on a regular basis to do my work. And I still fall into the trap of accepting the results as they are without questioning the validity.

 

I once asked ChatGPT to write a piece of code that automates a repetitive task. I copied the code and immediately ran it on my app platform without checking. I was just so lucky I accidentally introduced a breakpoint to stop the execution.

 

Cultivating a habit of being proactive will guarantee that AI will never be able to replace what you do. And even if it did, you’re already a few steps ahead working on the next new thing.

 

AI Cannot Make Wise Decisions

 

Technology is built with algorithms and decision trees. The results will be based on the design and the quality of the input.

 

That’s great for purely facts-based environments. Because based on inputs and algorithms, we can have predictable outcomes.

 

Too bad we don’t live in purely facts-based environments.

 

We deal with complex human beings every single day, most of whom we don’t understand. Heck, we don’t even understand why we do what we do sometimes.

 

I’m sure you’ve been in situations where facts alone were not enough to make decisions.

 

Have you stepped into a meeting – social or otherwise – where everything looks great on the outside? Yet your gut is telling you that something feels off.

 

That’s your intuition working. Like Peter Parker’s Spidey-senses.

 

I remember a consulting project I worked on a few years ago. The client wanted me to do an assessment of their high availability infrastructure. It was causing a lot of issues. Since their business relied on the infrastructure, the issues were costing them a lost revenue.

 

I did my usual discovery conversation with the IT director, gathering facts about their environment.

 

However, I could not shake the feeling that something was not right.

 

I told the IT director that I needed to meet with the whole team. Despite the fact that I can do my work from anywhere in the world, I had to be physically present with the team.

 

The IT director was hesitant at first. After all, bringing me onsite was an added cost. Not to mention scheduling dedicated time for the entire team away from their day-to-day work.

 

Within an hour of talking to the IT team, I knew exactly what the problem was. And it had nothing to do with their infrastructure.

 

They have inefficient communication channels. And because of that, they were ignoring processes, causing issues in their infrastructure.

 

Had I simply rely on the facts provided, we would never have resolved the real problem: team communication issues.

 

Intuition-based decision-making is something AI will never be able to do. Ever.

 

AI Cannot Be the Artisan

 

The rise of developer-focused AI-platforms like Cursor paved the way for a new trend: vibe coding. It’s where anybody can use the English language to describe a problem as a prompt to an LLM tuned for coding. You can now create software in a weekend without knowing how to write a single line of code.

 

The concept is nothing new.

 

I remember the introduction of integrated development environments in the mid-1990s. As I wrote my very first code in Turbo Pascal, I was surprised to see how easy it was moving from terminal-based coding to using Borland Delphi. I didn’t have to know every syntax to create an app.

 

Then, I got introduced to Visual Studio in 1998. Talk about an upgrade, like from flip phones to an iPhone.

 

I was able to create a simple network-based app in less than a few hours. Without even knowing how the Windows Sockets API worked. All I had to do was drag-and-drop a few controls, create the user interface, and a working app was ready for use.

 

Imagine my surprise when Visual Studio.NET came out with even better tools for creating mobile-based apps.

 

The problem with having better tools is it makes you feel like an expert without having a good grasp of the fundamentals.

 

Besides, you were able to build something fast, weren’t you? You have a working prototype without the need to know the basics.

 

It’s like publishing a novel over a weekend without understanding what makes a story captivating.

 

There’s a big difference between knowing how to use a tool and being an artisan.

 

Knowing how to use a tool allows you to create something.

 

But without mastery of the fundamentals, you become a slave to the tool.  You take away the tool and you start to feel helpless. I’m sure you’ve felt that way when you had to do simple math without your phone on the grocery checkout.

 

In contrast, an artisan can create something with or without a tool.

 

An artisan’s mastery of the craft is the secret to creation.

 

With a tool, the creation process is a lot faster. Without it, creation still happens, albeit a lot slower.

 

The real power of being an artisan is when you can create your own tools as an extension of your abilities.

 

Like a mathematician creating super calculators.

 

Or a programmer writing code generators.

 

It is your responsibility to be the artisan. A master of your own craft. To be very good at what you do.

 

And if necessary, use AI as a tool.

 

I cannot tell you what the next wave of technology would be. Probably AI vNext.

 

And I can’t even imagine what they can be capable of. Maybe get rid of your job within the next 5 years.

 

If you want to remain relevant…

 

If you want to hedge against obsolescence and not have AI ever replace what you can do…

 

Focus on the things that AI cannot do.