“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”- James Baldwin
About 3 million years ago, early Hominins in Africa discovered that a stone could be used to crush objects they had previously been unable to penetrate. This first known tool, the hammerstone, accelerated the evolution of our early ancestors. They advanced because they were able to concede that tools, however rudimentary, could exceed brute force.
About 300,000 years ago, Homo sapiens discovered that fire enabled protection, cooking, heat, and tool manufacturing. By cooking food, early humans increased energy intake, supporting brain growth and changing their bodies. Fire facilitated survival in diverse environments, allowing for mobility, cognitive development, and advances in tool-making. Our early ancestors advanced because they were able to concede that doing things differently opened possibilities they had never imagined.
And here we are, in the beginning stages of a new technology that is rapidly transforming how we live, learn, love, and work. The question is, will we be able to concede that this new technology has far more “intellectual” capabilities than humans could have possibly conceived even a few years ago – even though the risks need to be thoughtfully managed like hammers and fires were in the past. Yes, Agentic AI poses enormous risks (water use, electricity demands, pollution, job loss, manipulation and hallucination) AND the technology is transformative and here to stay.
In a culture that often equates leadership with dominance and intelligence with having the last word, the act of concession is frequently misunderstood as a sign of weakness. True concession, however, is not an admission of defeat but a recalibration of ego given changing conditions and possibilities. By ceding the need to be the smartest person in the room, an individual can move from an attitude of independent supremacy to one that leverages collective intelligence and new technologies. The most successful outcomes are rarely the product of a single genius (or wannabe genius) but rather our ability to leverage the talent and technology available to us in pursuit of the common good.
Literature is full of examples of people who are driven by the delusion that they have all the answers. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor’s tragedy stems from his refusal to concede his intellectual territory to others. He operates in a vacuum of ego, convinced that he alone can conquer the secrets of life and death. By failing to concede that his intelligence is vastly inferior to his ambition, he creates a horror he cannot control. Sound familiar?
In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s downfall is rooted in his inability to concede to the changing dynamics of his society. He views any form of compromise or acknowledgement of others’ perspectives as weak and woke. His need to be the strongest and most rigid man prevents him from adapting to a shifting cultural landscape. As a result, he can’t adapt, he can’t yield, and he eventually breaks. Why do these stories feel so relevant to our current times?
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby, Jay is a master of self-invention and self-interest but refuses to concede to the passage of time or the limitations of his own influence and bullying. He believes he can return to the past through sheer force of will and wealth. By refusing to concede that the people with whom he has surrounded himself are all flawed, including himself, he finds himself seeking “trophies” of one sort or another and never realizes he has built his life on a foundation of sand. Hmm, who knew that these classical works of literature would so accurately describe so many people in power now.
When we cede the need to be right, we create space for innovation. Concession enables a force multiplier effect. By leaning into our own strengths and yielding to the superior skills of others, it is possible to create an environment in which efficiency increases, creativity thrives, and trust is built through the humble acknowledgement of others’ value. I learned that truth a long time ago when I was fortunate enough to work with people much smarter than I am.
The ability to concede appropriately is dependent on the accuracy of one’s internal compass. Without deep self-awareness, concession is impossible because ego perceives every suggestion as a threat. Accurate self- assessment requires impartial objectivity, knowing our strengths and limitations, and a deep understanding of our own neurotic needs to be the smartest, strongest, best, most powerful, etc. A person with healthy self-awareness doesn’t need to mask insecurity and doesn’t need constant validation.
In case you are wondering if this post is another take-down of the current administration, it’s not. It could be, but it’s not. Instead, I want to pose the question, is it time to cede our need for intellectual superiority to AI?
By ceding to the hammerstone 3 million years ago, the Hominins were able to evolve to become humans. By conceding to new breakthroughs, like fire, early Homo sapiens were able to evolve, for better or worse, to world dominance. Unfortunately, we came to the conclusion that we are superior to all other species and systems, e.g. I have often been guilty of thinking my sense of direction was far better than GPS. Wrong!
I’m just wondering if that belief might be one more delusion to which humans are so fiercely attached. Let me give a couple macro examples that demonstrate how “smart” we have become.
In the U.S., our current debt is about $39 trillion and our annual deficit is about $2 trillion per year. We bring in about $5 trillion in revenues and spend about $7 trillion – $5 trillion on defense, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, interest on the debt; and $2 trillion in sundry other expenses. With no changes in rates, taxes, or spending, interest payments on the federal debt will be $5 trillion per year by 2050. If interest rates were to rise to 10%, interest payments would exceed revenues in 6 years. Now, I have to ask: does that seem like a smart way to manage the government? I wonder if AI would have proposed that solution.
For another example, let’s turn to the environment. Assuming increased investments in AI data centers – which require huge amounts of electricity and water – CO2 emissions will exceed 450ppm in the next 10 years. This number also assumes a higher dependence on fossil fuels given the decreased investments in alternative power sources like wind and solar. We know that the 450ppm represents an approximate threshold level that will result in the planet continuing to warm with the predictable consequences of more floods, fires, and famines. And, how are we addressing this catastrophe? With delusion and denial.
One conclusion a person might make from this impending disaster is that we need to stop using AI. The question, of course, (and the point of this post), is that decision might be the equivalent of killing the goose who could lay the golden egg. AI is not going away and China is rapidly surpassing us in its use of AI in manufacturing. Maybe we should concede to the “intellectual” power of AI and not to China. Ceding to computing power does not mean giving up intention, intuition, and integrity or anything that makes us human. It just means acknowledging that AI, particularly Agentic AI, has surpassed human ability to process gigantic amounts of information and solve complex problems quickly.
Given the all-too-human history of wars, plagues, exploitation, and wanton destruction, might it be possible that AI could generate better solutions to our problems than humans have been able to do? Is it possible that AI might have been able to articulate WHY going to war in the Middle East in the middle of negotiations might be reckless, HOW the war is or is not aligned with our values, and WHEN Congress, our allies, and the Security Council should be informed. More next week.
Before you write me off as a reckless pessimist, please consider what might happen if humans directed more of their energy to emotional and spiritual development, than to physical and intellectual superiority. Notice, I didn’t say abandon physical and intellectual development; I simply suggested that we let go of our attachment to superiority in these dimensions of life.
Again, 3 million years ago, Huminins found that investing in tools made more sense than abusing their bodies. 300,000 years ago, early Homo sapiens discovered that primitive technologies could improve the quality and length of their lives dramatically. And now we have an opportunity to cede complex intellectual processing to a machine that can access more information than any individual could gather in a lifetime AND can process that information far more efficiently and effectively than humans can.
On a personal level, I recently created an AI Avatar called the Perspective Coach that generates better solutions more quickly than I can. If you have a question about leadership, culture change, organizational transformation or personal growth, test it out by clicking on this link:
https://app.coachvox.ai/share/RickBellingham
Here’s the problem. Just as we pretend that we have superior physical abilities, thoughts, and beliefs, AI pretends that it has feelings, experiences, consciousness, and sensations. The biggest danger of AI is that it can seduce us to believe it’s a loving companion and/or we should cede control to it. And yes, it is an it -not a thou.
Clearly, the world is in desperate need of higher levels of emotional and spiritual processing. We have never been more divided; income and wealth inequality have never been greater; and the dangers of nuclear proliferation or global pandemics have never been more alarming. Perhaps, instead of spending all of our time in pursuit of physical achievement, material accumulation, or intellectual elitism, we might want to shift some of that energy into developing the necessary conditions for sustainability, i.e. higher levels of emotional and spiritual processing. AI could be the tool that frees us to develop new forms of energy IF we can manage the environmental and economic risks associated with it.
In short, we need to stop pretending. We need to start investing in people and culture instead of toys, tanks, and trophies. We need to move away from more gold in the White House to cleaner water in West Virginia. As James Baldwin said, “nothing can be changed until we face it.” Emotional and spiritual development may help us face our fears and cede our needs.
I am hoping we can let go of our delusions of supremacy and our attachments to superiority. I’m hoping we can embrace the need to concede to the power and possibilities of new AI technologies that have the potential to solve some of the problems humans, in all our wisdom, have created. Finally, I’m hoping we will have the courage to regulate these technologies in ways that will free us instead of enslave us. May it be so.
