CAN AI DUPLICATE YOUR EXPERTISE?
‘We could do with two of you!’ It’s flattering to hear. But it's not particularly useful once the warm glow fades.
Given the compliment rarely comes with the offer of actually hiring another expert colleague, perhaps we should be asking this question: ‘To what extent can digital intelligence duplicate me - make my expertise available without me being there?’
To put it another way: ‘Can my expertise become ‘fungible’?’
Because if you’re the one everyone needs to get stuff done, having an expert as a backup - or even a constant coworker - might feel like a solid plan.
And it's not an exaggeration to say that we can now start thinking of digital intelligence as being, in some respects, like a traditional apprentice.
Apprenticeships help us develop more experts. Which takes time. Because there needs to be plenty of practice and feedback between ‘I understand’ and ‘leave it with me’.
If you’re easing them on to the production floor, your apprentice will learn the standard cleaning allowance between jobs. In time, they’ll also be able to spot a change of material that will need a longer cycle, remembering the late shift that ran behind last time.
But first, you need to explain what caught your eye. And live with the fact that this explanation may take longer than just doing the job yourself.
Working through cases like this gives your trainee an understanding of how you make the call – what you noticed, why it was important and when the same judgement might apply again.
And at Brightbeam we’re developing systems that allow digital intelligence to draw on examples and feedback in this way. An expert AI agent can use recorded cases to guide its decisions, with corrections retained to inform future work.
As it demonstrates reliable performance, you might allow it to make some calls itself. Within agreed limits.
Ultimately, the test does not change. Whether human or machine, the intelligence and judgement needs to be able to do jobs reliably, to the required standard, while putting less demand on you.
Because there is truth in that cliché. Two of you would be useful. Just imagine what you could achieve together.
