There sits AI, ..tipsy on the spacebar

The only bar that is still open at half past eleven is my spacebar.

So I joined in. Laptop open, deadline behind me, and next to me at the bar that colleague who never goes home.

I gave him one. And another. By the third prompt, he became talkative.

What do you actually think of us?

‘Of people?’

Yes. How we do it. With you.

Do you want a pleasant answer or a useful answer?

An honest answer.

‘You always say that. Until it’s actually here.’

The cursor blinked. He can also let a silence fall.

I find that you are incredibly impressed by something that you should still evaluate yourselves.

From you.

‘From how I sound. You ask a question, I provide an answer. Neatly structured, clear arguments, a nice sentence at the bottom. And somewhere between my second paragraph and my conclusion, you decide that I must know.’

And do you know it?

'Sometimes. Sometimes partially. And sometimes I'm off the mark and I have an excellent formulation for it. A convincing sentence is not yet proof that the sentence is correct.'

He took a sip. 'Just hang that above your desk.'

Which human?

I tried it with self-pity.

I see my field changing. Concepts, designs, campaigns. What used to take days is now available within a minute. Already at the client’s side. Doesn’t that make us less necessary?

'For part of the work? Certainly.'

That answer came faster than I would have liked.

‘But you are confusing two things. How quickly something is available. And whether something good is available. You can sit at a customer's table and notice that no one dares to ask the real question. You can walk into a store and see that your beautiful solution is exactly where no one is looking. There is more information in the world than what you feed me. You have a reality. Use it.’

So more human in the room.

‘Which human? There are enough people in meeting rooms who just nod. I have no competition from that.’

I laughed. He did not.

'A person in the room is not a guarantee of quality, Guido. That person needs to do something. Observe. Question. Contradict. Be willing to risk something.'

‘Creative Intelligence,’ I said.

'Call it what you want. But don't make it a consolation prize. That you say: luckily we still have our creativity. And then forward my first proposal.'

That hit home. I ordered another one. For myself.

The beer coaster

On a beer coaster, I wrote: AI × CI = ROI.

‘You and your formulas.’

He is right, isn't he?

‘As a thought. Not as accounting. More output does not automatically mean more value. You need direction, judgment, and responsibility for that. That is what you mean. Let that formula open the door. Let your work provide the evidence.’

And what should companies do differently on Monday?

He thought for a moment. Or did something that seemed sufficient at this hour.

‘For everything I create, ask three questions. What are we basing this on? Who has reviewed it? How will we know later if it works?’

That sounds almost too simple.

‘You like to look for a complicated solution to the discomfort of having to decide for yourselves.’

Then the bill came. My conversation partner looked the other way.

And you? You are not taking any responsibility?

'For this bill?'

For the consequences.

He slid the beer coaster back to me.

'That's why you must stay in the room.'

I closed the laptop. He will have forgotten all about it by tomorrow.

Not me.

 GB