Leadership's AI Dilemma
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
The potential for the new generation of AI tools to improve business is seemingly limitless. We all have to adopt AI to take full advantage. The dilemma for leadership is how far to lean in without falling into a bottomless pit.
Apple's Machine Learning Research team published a new white paper – The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity. Their research shows that every AI platform will fail as complexity increases. They reached this conclusion by having the AI platforms play games. The rules of each game are fixed. They added complexity by increasing the number of variables at the start of each round. At some point, every platform failed.
The findings have significant implications for decision-makers. We must develop a sense of when a problem becomes too complex for AI to solve. The beauty of the puzzles the researchers chose is that both the starting complexity and successful outcomes are known. Often, when using AI for research, we overlook two key factors.
AI does not know why we are asking the question.
AI does not know what problem we are trying to solve and how we plan to use the results.
Without this context, the tool can include data points that are not relevant, overlook key information, and generate flawed recommendations.
Tips for Using AI
Ask the same question on multiple platforms and pay close attention to the differences.
Ask the same question, phrased differently on a single platform, and pay close attention to the differences.
With each query, ask for links to the references used to generate the response. Open all of the links to verify their relevance based on the quality of the source and the age of the citation.
Do NOT ask AI for recommendations. Your job is to do the hard thinking.
Two Disturbing Trends
Many firms are looking to replace entry-level jobs with AI. This approach overlooks the most crucial aspect of first jobs. They are training grounds for new, young talent. It is where they learn how work gets done and prepares them for the next level. If we don't provide people with the necessary experience, they won't be ready to advance.
AI is being advertised as all you need to achieve success. Many of the ads feature young talent relying on AI to create their presentations or conduct their analysis. These ads encourage people to rely on AI instead of their own judgment.
Like any tool, it is all in how we learn to use it well and understand its limitations.
Related Articles
Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath | Axios
How AI may be robbing new college graduates of traditional entry-level jobs | PBS
How AI is reshaping the career ladder, and other trends in jobs and skills on Labour Day | WEF
Our Take: AI could be the death of entry level jobs, but only if we allow it | Unleash
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI is ready for entry-level jobs | Fortune
The Ad Industry's A.I. Reckoning | NYT Dealbook
How AI Is Redefining Managerial Roles | HBR
These human capabilities complement AI's shortcomings | MIT Sloan
How to grow your career in an AI-driven world | University of Cincinnati
Apple Intelligence | Catch up quick | MacBook Pro
Why Google’s “Dear Sydney” Ad Makes Me Want to Scream | Shelly Palmer
Vibe coding may represent what is both best and worst about AI. AI can write and test code quickly, but there is a real possibility that nobody understands exactly what it is doing.
Vibe Coding Is Coming for Engineering Jobs | Wired
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts
In my last newsletter, one of the chips discussed how David Zaslov qualified for his full bonus for meeting “strategic” goals in 2024. The decision to split Warner Brothers Discover into two separate firms raises another question. How did he qualify for meeting strategic goals when the strategy for WBD when it was formed in 2022 did not last three years?
Warner Bros. Discovery Is Breaking Up. We Have Questions | Vulture
A change in deportation policy was announced when the administration came to understand the negative impact of their approach. This should not have been a revelation. A central tenant of President George W. Bush’s 2007 immigration plan recognized that the vast majority of immigrants do not break the law, and they fill a critical role in the economy.
Trump Shifts Deportation Focus, Pausing Most Raids on Farms, Hotels and Eateries | New York Times
President Bush’s Plan For Comprehensive Immigration Reform | George W. Bush White House Archives
Here is an interesting thought experiment.
To be brilliant, we need flow.
Ingredients for brilliance | Wired
Solving the most complex problems requires huge and imaginative ideas. The first iterations may not come to fruition. The next level may yield the solutions we need.
Building a prosperous future demands bold ideas. These are some of the boldest | Aeon
I’ve never heard of a fridge cigarette. After reading this, I get it.
What is a fridge cigarette? The viral Diet Coke trend explained | Fast Company
Writing advice from Ernest Hemingway.
Ernest Hemingway’s brutal letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald on how to write better | Medium
The unintended consequences of limiting international students access to US universities are coming to light.
Public universities are “deeply affected" by international student restrictions | Marketplace
Bond yields tell us that people view America with a new level of risk.
Six Chart Sunday - Bet Against America? | Bruce Mehlman's Aage of Disruption
Happy Father’s Day
Quotes
“If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.”
- Ludwig Wittgenstein
“We learn by doing.”
- Aristotle
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- Arthur C. Clarke
“Imagination is more important than intelligence.”
- Albert Einstein
Please be kind and follow and subscribe to this newsletter on LinkedIn, Medium, or Substack..
I write about leadership in business and life. I am a certified M&A Specialist and Leadership coach. My perspectives are based on a 40+ year career working with leaders from around the world at over 100 companies.
My goal is to make this newsletter as interesting and valuable as possible. Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement. If there are specific topics in leadership you would like me to focus on in future issues, please send them my way.
You can order The Leader With A Thousand Faces on my website’s Recommended Reading Page. This page also has links to purchase the books discussed in this and previous newsletters.
