I received a Roomba for Christmas last year.
It took me half a year to unpack and start using it (Don’t ask. We all have our quirks.), but now it’s vacuuming my office while I type.
A few years ago, we visited one of our grandmas, and she casually remarked, “I’m sitting here talking with you while my machines (dishwasher and washing machine) do my work.”
She remembers a time when dish and clothes washing required her physical presence.
In The Life We’re Looking For, Andy Crouch writes,
“Every technical advance in human history has been borne on the wings to two promises:
1. “Now you’ll be able to . . .”–The promise of expanding human experience and capacity in some way. You might not have studied piano as a child, the player-piano salesmen would say, but “now you’ll be able to” have piano music in your home anyway.
2. “You’ll no longer have to . . .”–The promise of relieving toil, drudgery, stress, and for that matter, skill. “You’ll no longer have to practice,” says the player-piano brochure.”
The latest technology offering these promises is A.I. (ChatGPT, etc.).
Will it cause some problems? Yep.
Will it solve some problems? Yep.
But one thing it will never replace is the value of human intelligence. It will never authentically laugh or smile. It will never express true kindness. It will never be genuinely trustworthy.
In other words, it will never do the things that are most meaningful to the people around you, so embrace new tools and use them, but remember, as a leader, you offer something it never will.
After all, grandma used her newly found time to sit and tell stories to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. .
