Truth #2: Intelligence is not Wisdom
TL;DR — Don’t confuse information output with soulful insight.
Picture this. An accounting firm is hiring for a position on the team and has identified the perfect candidate. This person nailed the interview and blew everyone away with their knowledge about things like revenue, expenses, liabilities, and all the other things that the team needs expertise in.
On the first day on the job, they find that the new hire has massively messed up something in the system, and when asked about it, they say that they have never used that system before, or any for that matter. Confused, the manager asks how that could be when they were able to answer all the questions about it in their interview. Then the new hire explains the they had read everything about accounting and the various programs that companies use to do the work, but had never actually done the work themselves.
This story is not about accounting or a new hire. It’s about you, AI, and the future of wisdom vs. knowledge or intelligence.
Many people find themselves nervous about the future of AI and work and concerns about the displacement of knowledge workers are growing. What many aren’t considering is that while AI may outpace our pattern-tracking abilities (as it has in many ways already), it will likely not reach our ability to use lived experience in tandem with knowledge to come up with new ways of doing things (that is, until the singularity…at which time, all bets are off).
Wisdom-based decision making requires so much more than just information. It requires experience, an understanding of the context, the people and personalities involved, and ethical implications, the ability to consider tone and culture. These things all matter because, based on the answer to each one, the decision will change; without taking them into consideration, the solution may not bring resolution.
So, for the time being, we need to focus on not confusing rapid and vast information (AI) with soulful insight and experience (being human), and strengthen those things that ensure humans are not made redundant as AI becomes more knowledgable. Some things for you to consider…
When was the last time I relied on knowledge instead of lived experience?
What parts of my life have taught me wisdom that no amount of reading could offer?
How can I deepen my capacity for insight—not just collect more information?
Where might I be outsourcing my authority to something (or someone) “smarter,” rather than trusting what I know from being?