Now that I’ve published my Burn Book on Artificial Impertinence, let’s talk Artificial Intelligence.
In short: I have never met a non-creative job that AI could not do “better” – but some should still be left to the humans.
A while back, I watched the ‘28 Outs’ documentary on ESPN. It’s the story about how an umpire, Jim Joyce, made an incorrect call during a 2010 baseball game, robbing Detroit Tigers pitcher, Armando Galarraga, of a perfect game.
It got me thinking about the fallacy of human beings. About our quest for the elusive quality of perfection. We aim for perfect designs, perfect assessments, perfect employees, perfect products – yet inherently, most everything we produce is imperfect.
Artificial intelligence, however, has the potential to judge more accurately, more quickly, and more objectively than any human on the planet today. AI never gets bored with repetition, or seeks purpose beyond the mundane. AI has no need to escape the rat race or spend more time with its family. It is not interested in keeping up with the Jones’ or storing up political power.
AI would have known that the Cleveland Indians runner was out, and Armando would have gone down in history as one of the fewer than 30 baseball players who have pitched a perfect game.
And that brings us to a truth: in some roles, we appreciate our imperfection.
I may want my umpire to be perfect, but I want my pitcher to be fallible. Arguably, a team of AI robots could pitch, hit, and catch a perfect game – but where’s the fun in that? The exhilaration of sports comes from the competition, the uncertainty, and yes, the imperfection.
As we enter into this new era of Artificial Intelligence surpassing human efficiency in almost every way, it is difficult to deny where that could be of benefit. Conversely, it is also relatively easy to see where near-perfection would degrade our value of a thing: in art, in sports, and in any space where the risk is the appeal.
AI is coming for the mundane – the work – the things we wake up and dread doing. And we should let it.
There is plenty left over for us to enjoy.
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