As early as 1981, Steve Jobs was famously saying that computers are like bicycles for the mind. Bicycles allow humans to travel up to five times more efficiently than we can on foot. But computers are machines that can multiply your output far beyond 5x.
Just as engines and tractors enabled our ancestors to work fields with exponentially greater efficiency, future humans will look back and flinch at the tedium of today’s work. Despite how transformative technology has already been, and despite a simmering hysteria about artificial intelligence (AI), most people still do not grasp how wildly technology will continue to change our home and work lives.
Computers are ubiquitous, but most of us learn to use them without learning how they can be used. Being tech-savvy is still treated like a niche skill. Most people aren’t taught that computers are machines that can be aggressively leveraged to accelerate menial tasks, improve decision-making, automate rote work, and generate wealth.
Computers, simply put, are big-ass levers you can press to multiply your effort.
Notes on technology and human capability:
- The more you can leverage technology, the less likely it will replace you. Don’t think of it as you versus technology. It’s you plus technology.
- AI is accelerating skill inequality. The rich are getting richer in capability. The merely productive have an opportunity to become prolific. Those with strong core skills who use AI to amplify skills can leapfrog their peers who rely on AI to mask their lack of ability.
- If a computer is a bicycle for your mind, AI is a battery-powered bike. It can help you coast, can even take over. But if you never pedal, you won’t get exercise, and you’ll be helpless when the battery dies.
- People are already opting to send their kids to school in rented, driverless cars. Drones are fighting wars. Robotic arms are assembling hamburgers. As William Gibson wrote, “The future is already here,” it’s just not everywhere yet.
- A helpful heuristic for your career in the AI era: Pretend you’ve been handed next year’s technologies today. You have early, exclusive access. What can you now do that you couldn’t before? That’s your edge. Sprint with it.
“[Three groups have an] advantage: Those who can work well and creatively with intelligent machines, those who are the best at what they do, and those with access to capital.”
~Cal Newport, Deep Work (Book)
