“Will your job survive artificial intelligence (AI)?” “Find out which jobs are AI-proof.” “AI won’t take your job but someone who knows AI will.” Those are the scary headlines everywhere.
Let’s flip the script and look at the bright side for a minute.
Stepping into this era – I like to call it ‘Potentialis’ – is like stepping into a sci-fi utopia where AI isn’t just another tool; it’s the secret sauce for unlocking human superpowers.
Imagine this as the moment in every great superhero story where something big happens – an experiment gone wild, a cosmic accident or even a radioactive spider bite – that transforms the protagonist forever. That’s you, dear reader.
AI is our rabbit-hole moment, à la Alice in Wonderland, but here’s the kicker: there’s no crawling back out, no ‘return to normal’ – it’s forward all the way.
THE PRE-POTENTIALIS ERA
Let’s step back in time for a second to the time before AI superpowers.
When we explore the before era, what we see is that technology didn’t eliminate jobs; it transformed them. The sewing machine revolutionised tailoring, typewriters changed clerical work and ATMs reduced branch costs, boosting job numbers.
However, historically, our relationship to skills was very different: One skill sustained a person for life, often passed down through generations as a family profession. Specialisation remained crucial even during industrialisation. If you look at your own family, there were likely many individuals who held specialised jobs throughout their lives.
ENTERING POTENTIALIS
I like to think of the present as our sci-fi moment when we become aware of our superpowers. We’re in this decade of AI mega-acceleration, when everything is faster, smarter and more accessible … and that is powerful.
Yet, there are challenges and hurdles to unlocking these AI superpowers.
For one, human bias towards AI is stopping us from making the best use of our new superpowers. Take creativity tests, for example. AI now outshines humans in thinking outside the box – until people find out it’s AI-created. Then, suddenly, it’s like the magic disappears.
Same story with doctors. Research shows that when AI offers input, some physicians simply ignore it if it doesn’t align with their own opinions. The result? Lower accuracy. It’s like having a genius co-pilot but refusing to take their advice. Second, the world is getting louder, with so much noise out there. AI is churning out billions of assets at lightning speed; as it is a statistical model, originality is at risk.
The danger? Falling into the ‘mediocre middle’, where everything feels right but kind of average. The solution? Better prompts. This is all about prompts that help you escape the probably, obvious answers. And the good news is that AI can actually help us get better at prompting AI better. If only all our colleagues were this helpful.
A sneakier problem than poor prompting is how AI might be giving your brain a little too much ‘help’. Turns out, relying heavily on AI could be making our brains lazy. Early studies suggest that those who frequently use AI are finding it harder to evaluate information, solve problems and use critical thinking.
This is neuroplasticity at work: the brain creates new pathways through use and removes old pathways through disuse. And technology impacting neuroplasticity is not new.
Remember how our attention span has been shrinking? Or how, not long ago, we used to be able to go back home without Google Maps shouting ‘turn left’?
Now, with AI and how all encompassing it can be, we have to be more intentional. We owe it to ourselves and the next generation to build a ‘cognitive immune system’, and we must be careful not to outsource too much of our thinking.
That means using AI as a partner – not a crutch. Personally, my brain turning into mush scares me more than AI taking my job.
OUR POTENTIALIS FUTURE
This is when the true era of Potentialis begins. Your DNA has changed – you’ve joined the superhero club. Your superpower isn’t flying or invisibility – it’s the ability to learn and master new skills faster than ever before. In the past, you could build an entire career on one skill.
Now skills are melting away faster than ice cream on a sunny day. But here’s the kicker: that’s not a bug; it’s a feature. Learning new skills becomes our power-up system.
And for teams, it’s all about power-up cycles. Teams that get the hang of levelling up quickly will leave the competition in the dust, creating true superhero leagues.
NOW WHAT?
My biggest take away is this: Fear and growth go hand in hand.
This is a classic case of ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’… and you’d better have some fun along the way too.
So, welcome to Potentialis – a world where your superpowers are boosted by AI.
Ready to dive in?
By Jennifer Fischer, Chief Innovation and Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe Middle East
