Are You Trying to Automate Everything with AI? Heres Why You Should Stop.
Source: tai_blog

People are rushing to automate everything with AI.   Work smart  not hard! they say.   My LinkedIn feed is full of hooks like: Are you still working hard? Want to know how to work smart? Look how I create a post in 1 minute!   People pay attention to such posts because they look for:  hacks  secrets  shortcuts  cheat codes   They want tricks to:  avoid the hard work  skip the necessary learning  achieve big goals quick and easy   People believe AI can magically enable that.   So they start automating tasks they barely understand. They believe they found their shortcuts  their cheat codes. They finally know how to work smart!   But heres the problem   You cant automate something you havent done yourself.   Why?   Because it leads to terrible results:   Emails clearly written by ChatGPT.Low-quality content created by LLMs.Comments clearly generated by AI tools.Automating tasks without deep understanding doesnt make people look smart. It makes them look stupid.   Look  Im an AI Engineer. Building AI tools and automation pays my bills.   Im not here to tell you Stop using AI! or AI is evil!   Instead  I want to explain:   What NOT to automate.How to use AI strategically.Why hard work and learning will never go away (no matter how super-intelligent AI will get).When working smart makes people actually look stupid.Lets dive in!   The Misconception of Smart Work.Hard work is overrated. Smart work is everything.   Weve heard it for years. But with the improvements in AI  this trend exploded in the past 1218 months.   We feel pressure and obligation to work smart. At least I do.   Working smart should be a goal  but Work smart  not hard is oversimplified.   And one of my role models backs me up:   Work smart  not hard may be good advice for someone who already made it  but its bad otherwise.   - Sahil Bloom   In the AI era  people want big things in no time or effort. People always wanted that.   But the world has never worked this way   These things have always been hard: U+2714 Achieving big goals. U+2714 Finishing difficult tasks. U+2714 Learning complex topics   Many people wrongly believe AI has changed this principle.   Additionally  theres a lot of social pressure promoting this trend.   I see a lot of that on LinkedIn & YouTube: Check out how I automated my life with AI! Stop wasting your time and use my AI systems! 1000 personalized emails in less than 10 minutes!   When I see the hooks  I feel Im wasting my time.   I feel I should be working smarter.   I want great results quick and easy.   I want the shortcuts  hacks  tricks I want it all!   But these shortcuts lead to terrible results!   The Hidden Danger of Smart Work.Everyone wants to automate things theyve never done before. You cant automate something that you havent done. Even if someone tells you how  you dont understand it.   - Nicolas Cole   This quote is from Ali Abdaals podcast.   In the podcast  Ali said that he gets many emails that are clearly generated by ChatGPT.   I havent seen those emails  but I guess they look like this:   For most people  that email looks OK.   But for people who learned how to write well  the email is obviously AI-generated (after 3 seconds of reading).   Bad emails are just 1 example. But it also applies to:    AI-generated articles  AI-generated comments AI-generated social media posts   People save time. True.   But they lose much more:    They lose trust.  They lose credibility.  They sound like a robot.  Their lack of competence is obvious.  Other people know  its not their work.   Instead of working hard  they actually look stupid.   Why are their AI results so terrible?   Because they avoided the hard work:   They skipped learning so they dont understand what good writing looks like.They never practiced writing  so they didnt have their own style or voice.They lack writing expertise  so they cant evaluate AI outputs.They dont know how to edit or improve AI outputs.So whats the solution?   Solution 1: Embrace Learning and Hard Work.Let me bring more wisdom for Sahil:   Principle: Work hard first  and smart later.   Its in vogue to say that working smart is all that matters.   I disagree.   If you want to accomplish anything  you have to start by working hard.   Build a reputation for hard work  take pride in it. Then build leverage to work smart.   - Sahil Bloom   Why is it so important to do the hard work yourself? Lets hear from Nicolas Cole too:   But after you do that (hard work) you are significantly more educated about the process:   - How to do it well. - What are the mistakes. - What drives the outcome.   That then allows you to leverage tech   - Nicolas Cole   They both emphasize the same message:   The only way to build leverage (through tech & AI) is to work hard first.   You dont build leverage by working smart from Day 1. You dont simply get leverage. You must earn leverage.   So I tweaked the Work smart  not hard mantra and ended up with: Work smart ONLY IF youve already worked hard.   But how do you build leverage first?   Before you jump into AI  go through the 4 crucial steps:   Start with manual processes. Hands-on experience is priceless. So write those emails  create that content from scratch  and do whatever you have to do. But do it yourself first. It will pay off forever.Understand the entire process. Break down complex tasks into smaller parts. Learn how each piece fits together and adds up to the whole.Develop expertise. Invest time to become an expert in your field. Keep working in a loop: Learn -> Create -> Seek feedback.Make mistakes and learn from them. People want to avoid failure and errors. But heres one of my favorite quotes ever:We can be truly successful only at something were willing to fail at. If were unwilling to fail  then were unwilling to succeed. Mark Manson   Successful people whove never failed dont exist!   And AI will NOT change this principle.   By working hard upfront  you gain:   A deep understanding of your field.Credibility and expertise that set you apart.The flexibility to adapt as AI technology evolves.You gain the ability to critically evaluate AI outputs.Then  and only then  you are ready to automate.   Let me give you the AI-related quote that resonates the most with me:   Its not Human vs. AI.   Its Human to the power of AI.   - Dharmesh Shah   In short If the human part s*cks  the AI outputs also s*uck!   Look  Ive spent over 20 hours writing this article.   Its one of the most challenging articles Ive ever written.   But I know its full of:   My own beliefs.My own opinions.My own experience.My own writing style.and the hundreds of hours of learning how to write.   Note: And Im not afraid of any AI detectors I can even save time for people who want to test my writing:   But the smart AI gurus would tell me  Dude  why did you waste 20 hours on writing? Why did you waste 100s of hours on learning? AI can write it in seconds!   And theyre right. AI can write   but the quality of that writing is terrible:   Remember! These are your biggest assets:   U+2714 creativity U+2714 unique experience U+2714 deep understanding   And AI will NOT change it!   Does it mean you shouldnt use AI unless youre an expert?   You should  but heres how   Solution 2: Use AI Strategically.Another huge misconception is that AI will replace humans.   AI is just a tool.   A powerful one  but still a tool.   So think of it as a human extension (not a replacement).   Use AI as your: U+2714 tutor U+2714 helper U+2714 partner U+2714 assistant U+2714 amplifier U+2714 enhancement U+2714 personal coach   But heres the good news: AI can help you become an expert much faster.   Here are 4 ways of using AI as an assistant or an expert (this list can get much longer!):   1. Use AI to learn. I love using AI as my personal tutor (especially for complex topics).   One of my most used prompts is Explain topic X to a 12yo. Use examples and analogies.   But AI for learning can also:   Create a learning path tailored for you.Quiz you from your knowledge.Provide the best resources.Simplify complex topics.Create ANKI cards.You can get creative here.   Speaking of which   2. Use AI to boost creativity. People believe AI kills creativity And theyre wrong!   My wife is an Illustrator & Graphic Designer.   She uses AI all the time (DALL-e  MidJourney  Canva).   She runs many tests with AI  such as:   Blending various styles.Creating surprising objects.Combining unrelated things.Do you think its bad for my wifes creativity?   3. Use AI to brainstorm. Know that feeling when youre stuck and dont know what to do next?   U+2714 Use AI to unstuck. U+2714 Use AI to move forward. U+2714 Use AI to validate your ideas.   Just talk to it as it was another human being.   Explain your thoughts  struggles  ideas   4. Use AI to find ideas. AI is an Idea Generation Machine!   Need an idea for:   a project?an article?a social media post?Use AI to find the ideas.   ConclusionIm a big believer in AI Automation.   But again Dont automate things youve never done before.   Because your knowledge is the foundation for AI outputs.   You cant skip learning and believe youre working smart. Not learning (by definition) leads to the opposite of smart.   Work hard. Keep learning. Then work smart.   Earn your leverage.   U+1F514 If you found this article useful make sure to clap and give me a follow. It will tell the Medium algorithm that this article is helpful for others too! U+1F514   And if youre interested in becoming an AI Engineer  these articles will be great for you:   If I started learning AI Engineering in 2024  heres what I would do.The exact path I would choose.ai.gopubby.com   6 Surprising Observations From My 10+ Job Interviews For AI Engineering Roles.Personal experience has become invaluable in the AI era.ai.gopubby.com