The article’s content results from my curiosity and inquiry into the topics of interest to me, and presumably to many others. It is offered to instigate dialogue and invite joint thinking and collaboration. It is not deemed right or “true” — I am sharing my point of view and recommendations on the way forward based on my experience.
A recent lecture at UCL was deeply inspiring, sparking numerous thoughts, questions, and even a clearer sense of direction for me. Dr. Vivienne L’Ecuyer Ming’s unique ability to demystify complex contemporary issues and phenomena, particularly their implications for the world of work and life, is consistently insightful. Key notions from her speech have been resonating with me since. I found myself jotting down several points that have fuelled my thinking, especially in drawing parallels to the workplace. Her talk at UCL offered a compelling perspective on navigating the complexities of our current era, emphasising the crucial distinction between knowing and understanding.
What Really Stuck with Me
- AI knows everything but it understands nothing: While AI possesses vast factual knowledge, it lacks genuine understanding, perspective, and context — qualities cultivated through education and experience. The core purpose of education is to foster this deep understanding; and the same stands for any businesses that deem to be learning organizations.
- Look for the things that prove you wrong: True progress, especially in science and leadership, stems from actively seeking out and celebrating instances where our beliefs are proven wrong. This intellectual humility is essential for growth. The notion of collective intelligence is not new, and making the right choices is critical. The single biggest predictor of a smart team is how diverse a team is, alongside two more criteria they must fulfil — they must be reasonably small and operate in a radically flat hierarchy.
- Love the unknown and accept uncertainty: The most interesting and potentially transformative projects and ideas emerge from exploring problems we don’t yet understand. Assess, take, and manage risks, fostering a learning culture of trial and error. A unique perspective, often gained through diverse life experiences, can be invaluable in finding the right problems and solving them.
- May the power of ill-posed questions be with you: In an age where answers to well-posed questions are readily available, the true value of human intelligence lies in the ability to identify and ask the right questions — the ill-posed ones that delve into the unknown. Our education system, as well as companies, should prioritise this skill. Agency and inquiry allyship are the true differentiators.
- Transfer people from routine to creative labour pools: AI’s impact isn’t about replacing human capabilities but rather about shifting our focus towards creative labour and the exploration of the unknown. Leaders should empower individuals to use AI in ways that challenge their thinking and uncover novel questions. They should transform routine jobs in their teams into creative jobs.
- Cultivate productive disagreement: The majority of the people should be wrong most of the time — otherwise, they are not exploring. An “optimally created intelligent community” thrives when diverse perspectives are encouraged, and individuals are willing to be “productively wrong” as part of the exploration process. Incentives should reward insightful, initially incorrect, ideas that ultimately prove to be valuable.
- Treat AI like a true part of your life and your job is to beat it: Think hard about what only you know about the subject. We tend to approach life superficially; we have a deep, comforting and very human instinct to go shallow — all of us do it to a great degree. True understanding and innovation require deep engagement with complex issues, challenging our assumptions through rigorous questioning — the Why? Why? Why? exercises retain importance.
- Embrace productive friction for growth: Actively seeking out and understanding our mistakes is crucial for personal and intellectual development. Use AI to find every mistake, ill-conceived notion, and every twist in your choices and decisions. Get it all out that you have gotten wrong and seek explanations in detail on what’s wrong with those. Build AI that specifically supports your creativity and improve your ability to use productive friction to do more creative things.
- Don’t want AI to make your life easy, but make it hard in a way that makes you better: For the best outcomes, people use it to challenge themselves — think hard and the first answer should never be good enough. Key predictors of highly intelligent teams include small size, significant diversity across race, gender, knowledge, and age, and radically flat hierarchies that ensure equitable participation. Aggressively go deep — ill-use of AI can make you less productive, and it increases the demand for more routine work, such as writing your emails in response to the ones you haven’t even read.
- Share your returns only with the ones that are proven right when the majority thought they were wrong: You need the leaders who make your teams smarter and are willing to create productive friction. It is their accountability to foster environments where individuals are encouraged to think differently and challenge the status quo. Convergence — even worse, conformity — does not equal alignment. Divergence is a virtue. Look for the “Minority Report” and build a voice culture. Build a context in which none gets anything for the safe and easy bets. Reward the productively risky bets and change your incentive system — invest in people and they’ll choose to use AI in a way that challenges them.
Emerging Complementarity Can Support Inclusion and Innovation
These are the ideas that have truly shifted my thinking. It strikes me that Dr. L’Ecuyer Ming’s insights offer the perfect lens through which any function in any organisation can define and deliver its value. Each must constantly ask: does what we do ultimately strengthen the organisation’s ability to explore the unknown — to differentiate — and empower its people to bring their unique perspectives to the table?
Reflecting on these key points, the answer for me is clear. Wherever I work, my focus will be on looking beyond the day-to-day and helping companies cultivate the context that allows their people to contribute their distinct viewpoints and drive genuine innovation. That, I believe, is the fundamental difference that human curiosity, critical thinking, and the ability to navigate uncertainty in a world increasingly shaped by AI can bring.
