We've probably all heard of or experienced the old adage of having to convert something to a PDF for our boss; a disconnect in the understanding of technology between generations in the workplace is never reflected in earning potential or status. Somehow, there is neither a barrier for older generations being promoted into higher management roles, nor a way for younger generations to leap ahead in their careers.
And to what level should a familiarity with the latest, or even 10 or 20-year-old, technology be a barrier to one's advancement in the workplace? I think the answer to that lies in the ability of leadership to recognize its importance and impact.
You simply can not prioritize that which you don't understand, recognize, or are not aware of.
But this is true for other areas of skill; while there might be a million 20-year-olds to 30-year-olds who can help convert a PDF, the decades of knowledge and experience your manager possesses aren't quite so easily replaced.
Where is this rant going? It almost sounds like I'm saying that those who learn to use the latest technological tools like AI will become more important in the workplace.
This isn't really what I'm trying to say.
I really think that AI is different than any advancement in technology that has come before it; most technology until this point has made creative processes faster or more accessible. But the latest advancements in generative content are the first steps in replacing the creative act altogether. Replacing the creative act itself makes it more than a tool. It makes it something else entirely.
Still, there are aspects of Large Language Models (let's call AI what it really is) that are tool-like and can help make mundane tasks faster, the way any tool should.
Without getting too much into that debate, it is an important skill to learn, develop, and continue to explore and to educate oneself on what the current ends of the constraints of technology are. You owe it to yourself not be fooled, to have the wool pulled over your eyes into thinking that something is real when it's not.
Like how your older relatives in the 2000s and 2010s saw that barely passable Photoshop and thought that it was a real event, We are entering into a new era where some will hail the most basic regurgitated AI creations as a revelation, where, to the trained eye, they are nothing more than a mockery of reality and true artistic creation.
You, too, will soon find yourself in situations such as in this story; gritting your teeth as a no-effort generative creation is lauded and someone is congratulated for their relative lack of effort with apparent and sloppy results.
The image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
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