Humility is the New Smart
Your job is at risk — if not now, then soon. We are on the leading edge of a Machine Age led by AI that will be as transformative for us as the Industrial Revolution was for our ancestors. Smart machines will take over millions of jobs in manufacturing, office work, the service sector, the professions, you name it.
They know more data and analyse it faster than any mere human. However, smart machines are free of the emotional, psychological, and cultural baggage that is so often ignored as important by humans.
To stay relevant, we must play a different game. We can’t beat ’em & we also can’t join ’em so what are we left with as an alternative?
We need to excel at critical, creative, and innovative thinking. Be genuinely engaging with others—things machines can’t do well. The key is to changing our definition of what it means to be smart.
The crucial mindset underlying New Smart is Humility—not self-effacement but an accurate self-appraisal: acknowledging you can’t have all the answers. Remaining open to new ideas, and committing yourself to lifelong learning.
The key to success in this new era is not to be more like the machines but to excel at the best of what makes us human.