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LinkedIn
26 May 2023

This article presents a useful framework for classifying the various tasks that can be assigned to an "AI assistant":

- Just Me Tasks: Tasks where AI is not useful and can be obstructive. They are currently better performed by humans.

- Delegated Tasks: Tasks assigned to AI, with the expectation of human review due to the AI's tendency to generate incorrect information. These tasks are usually low importance but time-consuming.

- Centaur Tasks: Tasks that involve a combination of human and AI work, integrating AI deeply into the workflow. These tasks maximise the value of AI.

-Automated Tasks: Tasks entrusted entirely to AI without human intervention or supervision. Currently, this category is small due to the prevalence of AI errors.

Interestingly, the author (Wharton professor Ethan Mollick) prefers to think of AI as a person, even though he acknowledges it clearly isn't. And, to continue the anthropological lens, he prefers to think of AI as an intern:

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So, how can you figure out how to best use your intern1? Just like any new worker, you are going to have to learn its strengths and weaknesses; you are going to have to learn to train and work with it; and you are going to have to get a sense of where it is useful and where it is just annoying. The stakes for this are quite high. People using AI have 30-80% higher productivity in some writing and coding tasks, and often feel happier having offloaded their most annoying work. That is a big incentive to learn to work with your intern.
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#ai #productivity #productivityimprovement #automation #chatgpt #assistivetechnology

Originally published on LinkedIn.