Making Friends with AI

Thunking vs Thinking: Whose Job Does AI Automate?

Which tasks are on AI’s chopping block?

Recent progress in AI is an evolution towards augmented individuals, unlocking personal creativity and productivity. We’re entering an era of accelerated automation, so it’s understandable if you’re eager to know what kind of upheaval — and opportunity — this will bring to your own career.

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So, what kind of job does AI automate? It might be more insightful to shift our focus from ‘which jobs’ to ‘which tasks’. And to answer your burning question, I’ll have to make up a new word…

You already know what thinking is, so let me introduce its cousin: ‘thunking.’ Yes, it’s exactly that dull sound you’d hear if you tried to open a door by using your head… as a battering ram! Thunk, thunk, thunk. Maybe take a moment to think about what’s worth doing and why the door handle might be the best way forward.

For every task, there’s a thinking piece and a ‘thunking’ piece. Like the dull thunk of a brick hitting the ground, the mindless brainless task.

Remember the last time you found yourself mindlessly copying-pasting or mechanically sorting through a…