Self-worth in the Age of AI
John Niland
Supporting professionals to build a powerful professional identity in the Age of A.I., rooted in self-worth and self-belief
A scary story about AI appears just about every day. In these fearful imaginings, AI will eliminate our jobs, invade our privacy and take over the world.?
The term AI Anxiety is now “a thing”, bubbling alongside its cousin Climate Anxiety to erode hope and optimism about the future.?
It’s a biological fact that our brains are wired to see threat before we see opportunity.
As with all forms of anxiety, our current resources seem puny and inadequate, when compared to the overwhelming accumulation of tomorrow’s risks and threats.?
This is the Fearful Equation that robs too many people of sleep and joy in life: Anxiety = Risk / Resources.? Our self-esteem always wants a number that’s less than 1, preferably as low as possible.?
But it’s an equation that misses two important elements; usually because our self-esteem is preoccupied with shoring up resources: in an all-out effort to prove we can deal with anything… including AI.
When we shift from self-esteem to self-worth (i.e. from trying to be interest-ing to being interest-ed), we begin to discern these two (missing) elements in the Fearful Equation of anxiety.
First of all, your value in the marketplace does not depend on your risks and resources: it is derived primarily from other people’s risks and resources.
So the question to ask is not “how will I be affected by AI?”,
but
“how will other people be affected by AI, and what can I do to add value here?”.?
AI will bring a host of new opportunities: for programme managers, marketeers, recruiters, cost-optimisation professionals and lots of others. It will take at least a decade to roll out the technology that’s already available (just look at all the developments in telemedicine that have been available for years, which still need to be implemented.)??
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(You may want to refresh your memory on professional identity in the age of AI )
Second, the Fearful Equation does not include tomorrow’s resources. It misses out the people you will meet this coming year, the new things you will learn, the new insights you will develop, the new connections you will make, the new needs you have not heard about yet.?
This is why Explorer Conversations are so vital.?
In all probability, the ways in which you will survive and thrive in an AI world are simply not visible yet. But that does not mean they don’t exist.
If the roots of your self-worth are strong, you already have most of what you need to succeed and prosper... as long as you are looking outwards at other people’s risks and not just self-preoccupied with your own expertise.?
To explore this for yourself, you are invited to our monthly Zoom webinar on March 26th. This months' topic is “Self-worth in the Age of AI ” and we'll address:
The best way to tackle Ai anxiety is neither by therapy nor by technology: it’s by gaining fresh clarity about the value of your work.
? John Niland, March 2024. For enquiries about John as coach or speaker, on topics of self-worth and professional identity, see www.selfworthacademy.com or email [email protected]
I speak Haircutting, my second language is English.
8 个月I love this: "First of all, your value in the marketplace does not depend on your risks and resources: it is derived primarily from other people’s risks and resources. "