On the subject of AI and OD, I (once again) find myself swimming against the current.
OD, imho, is not Vaseline; i.e.: it’s not an enabler of fads which penetrate our mind space and create cures for cancer.
I remember when a client who had read a book on TQM wanted his “accounts payable” to define the clients they needed to collect from as “customers”….which is as stupid as is gets, and very characteristic of a fad on steroids.
So let me take that thread of thought and elaborate on it:
Do I want to “outsource” my ability to think to someone else or something else? Should people stop learning a second or third language because of great translation apps? Should one out-source having sex with your partner during the week because of fatigue?
Just where is the common sense here?
Again I remember that common sense is not that common.
I have worked with “product experts” for many years in many, many industries. These people have phenomenal knowledge and experience. They know about weird bugs, malfunctioning motors, strange symptoms, unspoken words and one-of-a-kind work arounds. Do we want to replace these people? Do we want to stop grooming experts?
Do we want to train people to stop thinking, even more than they have since Mobile Phone University replaced learning from reputable universities?
That is not to say that AI does not have a place; it surely does, whether we want to or not.
But to some extent, we all have a choice.
And OD consultants must emphasize, imho, that one does have a choice and by that I mean a better choice.
Recently a potential client approached me about using AI to stabilize her company’s product road map. We had a twenty minute conversation during which I asked her about her competitors. I learnt that her firm was in neck in neck competition with three other firms, all US based.
I asked her “Dorit, do they have access to AI as well?”
Of course I was not hired. Good for her, and better for me.
