AI is Anti-People

Growing up, there were always references and suspicions about the future and the possibility of robots, flying cars, you name it. I’ll admit, in my adolescent years, it seemed exciting. Unfortunately, a concept we fantasized about for much of my childhood has now gripped us by the throat and is quite literally taking words out of our mouths. Artificial intelligence, something that has been in the works for decades, has fully ramped up to the point of being unavoidable now. The more I am cornered by it, the more I want to understand why anyone truly thinks this is the way our society should be moving forward. It feels as though people, like myself, are more or less being punished for not conforming to the new “norm,” integrating AI into their daily lives, and ultimately being replaced by something that simply is not REAL. Why are we as humans being subjected to this reality?

Given my current roles as a Management Specialist as well as a Marketing Assistant with MSI, I am seeing this shift in both realms, and I’ll be honest…it worries me.

Management at many organizations are becoming overly complicit with using AI to rewrite their own procedures, suggest solutions, and completely losing sight of the employees that were hired to produce from the start. Additionally, the heavy push and recommendations for using AI in creative spaces, such as in marketing, completely disregards the reason marketing has always been so successful. It is because the art, message, and passion behind it came from actual people with skills and ambition.

To put it into the perspective of companies and marketing… The reality of the situation is that AI simply cannot do what we as PEOPLE do without a human telling it what to do first. Your people are SO important, and here’s why:

Does AI know the policies and procedures you have in place? No. Your organization developed them with your culture and regulatory requirements in mind. At one point in time, members of Top Management sat together and put forth the building blocks to the operation that was the beginning of a legacy.

What about your products? Do you think AI knows exactly what it is you sell or create, and the type of customers you have that purchase them? Does it know how to adequately reach your target audience? No, because it does not know that these entities exist.

Does AI know the floor plan of your production floor? No. AI does not know where your waste bins or eyewash stations are.

Does AI know your employees’ birthdays or qualities that make them a pleasure to work with? No. AI does not even know your employees’ names.

Does AI know your suppliers that service any of your equipment on a personal basis? No. Top Management does, and likely has known them for years, possibly even attending friendly functions together outside of work.

Does AI have compassion when a team member experiences a family emergency or even loss? Of course not. AI might be able to assist with sending flowers, but it would not have known to do so if a human did not tell it to first.

What about your Marketing employees that come to work full of excitement and new creative ideas? Is it really worth losing out on the next social media trend that could completely elevate your business?

To continue, what about your employees who have worked at your organization their entire lives, with retirement at the finish line? Is it ethical to replace the responsibilities of someone who knows and values their job with an unknown like AI?

The list could go on and on..

In addition to the corporate and marketing shifts, something we need to also consider is the value of humans in general. I believe the value of people cannot be replaced by a machine. Here are just a few examples of qualities your people have that, I assure you, AI does not:

Empathy - AI does not have feelings or care when life happens. People will work with you to come up with solutions and support you in challenging times.

Teamwork - People have the ability to operate using a team, oftentimes sharing ideas and collaboratively working amongst themselves. While there is no ‘I’ in “team,” there is in AI. ‘Teamwork makes the dream work’, right?

Security - Having trusted individuals in your life gives you the confidence to know your confidential information is safe. There is no sense of security when plugging your information into something like an AI database, which is frightening and honestly, highly problematic for compliance (stay tuned for our blog about the risks of AI).

Time - We understand that time is valuable, but time is simultaneously needed when coming up with valuable improvements and solutions. Just like a root cause analysis, verification of effectiveness is important, and a part of the process. And what do you need for verification? Time. AI works so quickly, it is implausible to assume it does not make mistakes. We take the time to account for human factors, but not AI factors? Interesting.

Equality - We strive to create an environment where employees, Clients, and our community are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. We believe representation matters, and we are intentional about ensuring every voice is heard and valued. The flipside with AI is that you have to tell it to do those things for you, because they are NOT you.

Ethics - AI does not know, or even have, ethics. AI might have been designed initially to assist with ethical solutions, but has since become everything but ethical.

Again, the list goes on and on… but I think you get my point.

At MSI, it is our responsibility to improve and streamline your systems, but in a way that AI will never be able to. Sure, it gets you quick “answers,” but never true, honest results. A human can, and that is something that cannot be replaced. AI is exponentially deteriorating basic analytical skills and cognitive functions, something that is absolutely necessary, even more so in quality, creative, and social spaces.

The research is there:

Studies from the Swiss Business School conclude the negative correlation between the use of AI and cognitive functionality, “mediated by the phenomenon of cognitive offloading.”

• In short, this study revealed that the use of AI reduced the need for deep cognitive involvement, potentially affecting critical thinking, and that there is a negative correlation between the use of AI and engaging thinking processes.

MIT researchers showed individuals using AI while writing had weaker activity in the brain and when AI was moved, experienced “cognitive debt.”

• Researchers had (3) different groups participate in an essay writing activity. The first group used nothing, the second used general search engines, and the third used AI. It was found that the group using AI showed the weakest cognitive load, and were unable to accurately quote their own work.

A study from Harvard found that AI increased productivity, but lacked ability when reasoning and critical analysis were required.

• It was found that AI can help with autonomous tasks, but has no way of reasoning or thinking critically when required.

Finally, Apple confirms that AI does not “think” but uses mathematical and coding benchmarks as their foundation.

• This confirms that AI is not real, or some entity that has any thought processes or emotions; it simply uses coding to produce answers it suspects you want.

In closing, and I cannot stress this enough, AI is anti-people. Not only is it NOT human itself, but it is encouraging a culture that does not include people in it. It is scary to imagine, but it is the reality we are moving towards. People are precious and valuable. We only have one life to live. Please reflect upon your people, your community, and your future when considering your usage of AI.