Storm Beach

I recently came across the idea that AI is a bit like a microwave. The technology is amazing, but you wouldn’t host a dinner party by using it alone. About twice a week I fall in love with my microwave, but only to reheat leftover coffee. But it did start to mirror my use of AI, a couple of times a week I find it really helpful.

I then came across this study, The Cybernetic Teammate. Firstly, it encouraged me to use AI as I would a teammate. That alone frankly gave me some degree of (dare I say it) social interaction on a project that I was otherwise working alone on. My counterpart (as you would expect) also gave me more confidence from a cognitive perspective.

Secondly, it challenged my long-held belief that teams can operate better than individuals. The study outlined 3 core pillars of collaboration — performance, expertise sharing and social engagement. The findings revealed that AI significantly enhances performance: individuals with AI matched the performance of teams (albeit the teams didn’t use AI).

Prior work had treated AI primarily as a tool, like a spreadsheet or calculator, things that we use most if not everyday to enhance performance. But because AI is trained on human language, they often act more like a person than a machine, and can effectively replicate certain benefits of human collaboration. Welcome to the machines…