Do you feel like you are falling behind in the world of AI? There’s a term that describes the feeling: FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
Maybe you are a knowledge worker and already have your plate full. Maybe you are saving articles to read later, videos to watch later, and when you finally have some time and energy to dive in the list is overwhelmingly long. And just like that your motivation to catch up is gone.
You can get to where you want to be one experiment at a time. A 15-minute session can spark creativity and ideas on how to apply AI to the boring tasks you want to automate.
Back in 2023, I found myself planning for a 3-month sabbatical. It was a perk at the company I used to work for. Reach the 5-year mark, get 3 months of paid leave. All excitement aside, there was a part of me that didn’t want to leave.
The AI boom was happening! OpenAI was having impressive developments, so much that Google called a “code red”. Being a developer on a team responsible for customer support tools, I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun of automating the boring stuff and empowering our customer support representatives. FOMO.
Everyone who has high stakes in the AI industry wants you to feel FOMO. However, as humans we tend to overestimate what we can do in the short term, and underestimate what we can do in the long term.
I’ve been in the technology industry for 16 years. One thing I’ve learned is that the tool doesn’t make the craftsman. And as of today that’s all AI is, a tool.
What kind of tool is AI?
AI is a GPT. Not the (Chat)GPT you are familiar with but General Purpose Technology.
What General Purpose Technologies come to your mind if you think about the last few decades?
The internet and smartphones are two big examples. These are technologies that created impact across industries.
The surprising aspect with AI is how fast it was adopted. What’s most surprising about it is also the most overwhelming aspect of it: the velocity.
There’s a distinction between feeling FOMO because someone is showing off, vs taking cool-headed responsibility for your career and experimenting. You don’t fall behind by missing trends. You fall behind by not running tiny experiments.
The 4 principles for working with AI
These principles were introduced back in 2024 by Ethan Mollick, a university professor and AI researcher.
I will share a newsletter issue for each one of them in the coming weeks with examples of my own. Join if you want to follow along.
- Always invite AI to the table: Experimentation gives you the chance to become the best expert in the world in using AI for a task you know well.
- Be the human in the loop: You are the only one who’s the best at being yourself. Use AI for amplifying not atrophying.
- Treat AI like a person (but tell it what kind of person it is): Think of AI as an alien mind. Then as an intern. Then as a famous figure.
- Assume this is the worst AI you will ever use: View AI’s limitations as transient, so change doesn’t catch you with your guard down.
You don’t need to be trying every new AI tool or model. You need to be open to change. Start small and iterate. Suddenly, what’s usual to you will be surprising to others.
The key is to keep moving, keep experimenting, and keep learning. You find the right tool while doing the work.
When I got back from my sabbatical, nothing had really changed. Sure there were plans in place and some progress. But, once again, we overestimate the short term and underestimate the long term.
When you look back and realize you didn’t spend absurd amounts of time and money trying out the new toy everyone talks about you’ll feel JOMO: Joy Of Missing Out.
JOMO is in the long term. Don’t trade it for the FOMO of the moment.
The key is to keep moving, keep experimenting, and keep learning. You find the right tool while doing the work.
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