We succumbed to it...

At the intersection of every breakthrough lives a moment that is riddled with denial. We fight it. We fear it. And eventually, we succumb to it whether we like it or not.

• How often do we miss what is right in front of our eyes?
• How does scarcity influence our potential?
• Is it out of fear that we lose sight?

— Corporate innovation. #recognize

On a sunny California afternoon, the first day of the Innov8rs Socal conference was about to wrap, as I came to witness an intellectually stimulating dance that started with the role of innovators in corporations and unintentionally landed with AI taking over the conversation.

The overall sentiment was positive and largely in support of AI’s potential until, somehow, otter.ai, the meetings audio transcribing service, came into play, and the tone changed.

The panelists went from support to an outcry for legal team involvement, and stringent rules placed to protect and safeguard privacy because, seemingly, the terms of use of that company were too loose.

I could not believe what I was hearing. Not because of whether what was said was true or not, but more so on how swiftly we contract as soon as we feel threatened.

A nerve felt to be struck. As privacy and proprietary data was tickled. The safety of corporations was at stake. The alarms sounded, and it was shut down.

And in that frenzy, I could not stop from wondering, while we debate, fight back, and lockdown, will it matter? I believe not. The level of denial witnessed is nothing but part of the charade masking the core disruption that is about to unravel.

— Irrelevant. #understand

It is not that data security is not important. The reality is that it is irrelevant, even if it is. The true innovation behind AI is that it will democratize intellect.

And while that notion is something we are still grappling with, no matter how much we try to resist it from happening, it will still unfold. Not because of the forceful will of the technology but because humanity is a leaky endeavor.

It is not a perfect system that abides, but it is a fluid one that always seeps and leaks through the cracks. Once we understand that, we realize how futile our attempts are.

As data will be more exposed, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the dynamics of how businesses operate will change. We have made a bet on the competitive advantage for business success to be contingent on the scarcity and uniqueness of what we own to prevail.

And while that has served us well in a world where intellect reigned, it is about to falter.

— Not the first time. #accept

You see, we have played this game before and have lost every time. We played it with dexterity and strength. We thought that power came as a result of the prowess of our muscles and how much we could flex them when our survival relied on us hunting.

The clan that had the most strength survived. Yet that didn’t last as knowledge in the current era has taken over and become the vertical of power.

As it starts to slip through, we fear the uncertainty of what will come next. In that haze, we miss the true potential that arises not from scarcity but potential.Where the longer the denial lingers, the slower our eyes will be able to see the innovation that will define the future.

Before the session concluded, one of the participants asked: Are we witnessing the erosion of human intelligence as a consequence of AI Adoption? With that question, I leave you.

Until next time,
Carlo