Hello everyone, and welcome to the podcast “The Manager Is a Comedian Like Any Other.”

Today, it is Laurent Boghossian himself speaking to you. Because this time, yes, I wrote my text with a pen, and I am recording my own voice without any help from artificial intelligence.

Because yes, I admit it: I sinned. I used AI.

All right, all right. Let’s relax.

That is precisely the purpose of this episode. I want to share my mindset and my perspective on the subject.

Back in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, whenever a company director needed a letter written he would call his secretary into his office. — yes, because company directors were necessarily men back then.

She — yes, because secretaries were necessarily women back then — she would take notes using shorthand, a highly specific writing system with its own particular code. She would record the director’s instructions in shorthand, then type the letter out in proper English on a typewriter, using correction tape whenever she made a typographical mistake.

And there you had it: the letter was ready.

Then the years went by, technology improved, and the arrival of word processing turned us into our own secretaries.

No more shorthand typists.

Well, that is exactly how I see artificial intelligence. Tools such as Cockatoo, ChatGPT, and a WordPress AI agent have become my secretaries, my shorthand typists.

In other words, I give them a large amount of raw information. Quite often, that consists of audio recordings in MP3 format and written text.

They then format and structure that material according to the instructions I provide.

After that, I proofread it, make adjustments, refine the content and, finally, publish my blog article.

Unlike the way I would interact with a human being, I use these systems for what they are: mechanical tools.

Because, no, artificial intelligence does not actually exist. What exists are artificial intelligence programs.

It is code.

At its most basic level, it consists of zeros and ones, computer bits, in other words: electrical impulses.

This entire physical and software-based computing system helps improve my performance and the quality of my work.

And honestly, I have absolutely no shame in using it.

For example, if you wanted to cut down a tree, would you use an axe or a chainsaw?

Well, actually, neither one on its own. You would use both.

First, you would prepare the tree with the axe. Then, you would move on to the chainsaw.

It is the same principle.

That is how I see things.

Artificial intelligence consists of programs and tools designed to serve humanity, not an end in itself.

In my view, artificial intelligence, when regulated and guided by human beings who think critically, can help us achieve extraordinary things.

However, there is one thing I absolutely do not support.

No, I really do not support it.

I am talking about companies that ask their employees to train artificial intelligence systems, only for those very same systems to eventually replace the employees who trained them.

That is terrible.

I also do not support all those researchers and technology entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley who say:

“Yes, yes, we have calculated that there is a 20% chance that artificial intelligence could lead to our own extinction and wipe out humanity. But it doesn’t matter. It is worth the risk.”

We often hear people say that human beings are trying to play God.

Personally, I would say that some human beings are simply children who want to play with grenades.

Because, seriously, the world seems to be going completely off the rails.

I mean, do you live under the impression that our world is a total mess because or artificial intelligence? What I think is that we, as humans, don’t need artificial intelligence to make our destiny a total wreckage.

Actually, I think we use AI as an excuse to justify our laziness and our inability to take responsability for our own destiny.

And when it comes to tools such as artificial intelligence, we can clearly see that the problem is not the tool itself.

The real issue is how we design it and what we intend to use it for.

If you enjoyed this post, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I would be delighted to perform my show or deliver one of my signature improvised conference at your next event, whether it is for your employees, your executive committee, or simply your professional partners.

Alternatively, you can ask me about my Strength & Leadership workshops — or, as I would say with a French accent, “Force & Leadership” — designed for leaders and managers, women and men of good will: courageous, highly skilled professionals who nevertheless feel they have lost control over almost everything and want to significantly increase their impact on employee engagement.

“Artificial intelligence at the service of humanity. Not the other way around.“