Ethics aside, as authors are being confronted by a form of technology that threatens our role in society as we have understood it, we are having to face the loss of certainty and control that always comes with any kind of paradigm shift.
As an author, a large part of me agrees with the concerns of those who signed the letter. At the same time, as someone who has spent decades speaking on trends and disruptions, I wonder if we are at a crossroads, where our response to the technology being offered will be a make-or-break moment for our creative work.
There are countless examples in the world of business that epitomise the impact of these pivotal moments. Having established innovative music distribution in the form of iTunes, Apple dismissed the streaming service technology of Spotify only to spend years playing catchup. Kodak was too established in the standing paradigm of analogue photography to make the switch to make the transition to digital in time. History is riddled with examples of people and organisations that missed crucial opportunities because they couldn’t escape the prison of their previous paradigms and assumptions.
I spend much of my time on stages unpacking examples and dynamics just like these, exploring how to overcome disruption, avoid irrelevance and prepare now for what’s next. When speaking on these issues, one of the quotes that I reference most comes from a former business professor at the University of San Francisco, Oren Harari. As he so perfectly puts it, ‘The electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles.’
In other words, humanity’s great leaps forward were a result of revolution, not evolution. History is punctuated by great thinkers, ranging from Galileo to Thomas Edison, who posed questions others were unwilling to ask, and saw things that others failed to see. These great men and women were able to think beyond the paradigms of their times — and dramatically changed the world as a result.
The question I have often personally come back to is what paradigms am I clinging to that are holding me back from embracing the opportunities of the future. Where am I fighting the tides in my own life? What might it look like for me to think revolution and not evolution?
While I agree in many ways with many of the arguments of these authors, I am also aware of how easy it is to fall into the trap of what is established, comfortable and familiar. I wonder if the authors writing at the advent of the printing press had similar concerns about their loss of control over the public distribution of their work. While the concerns of today’s authors are unique to our time, there might be parallels with these pivotal moments of history where those who thrived and survived were the ones to embrace the disruptions as opportunities rather than resist them as threats.
It's not at all surprising that this resistance is our go-to reaction. As I explore in my new book Mindstuck, when we are confronted by ideas that fall outside of our existing framework of the world, our instinct is to dig in out heels and resist. We take on a defensive posture that registers new ideas as a threats, rather than opportunities. We double down, rather than open up.
And yet, there is no faster route to irrelevance than doing just this.
With all this in mind, I was incredibly excited when Professor Mark Hutchinson, the President of Science and Technology Australia and an incredibly generous and insightful scientist, reached out to me with an idea.
Having set up a generative AI tool that runs on the technology of platforms like ChatGPT, he then programmed it with all the content from my latest book. What we have essentially set up is a digital book consultant.
Through this platform, you will literally be able to ask my book Mindstuck questions about anything to do with its content. How do I get my team on board with the new strategy? How do I help my teenager get motivated at school? Why is everyone so stubborn? Any question related to the psychology of stubbornness and mastering the art of persuasion will elicit an answer from the tool.
We are calling it the BookBot. Rather than fight the tide of AI, this is my attempt at practising what I preach – thinking revolution not evolution, harnessing the technology we have on offer rather than resisting it.
We can try and fight the tide. We can choose to get on the defensive, trying to protect ourselves from the threats of change and loss. Or, we can choose to seek out the opportunities that change presents us with, and embrace the future that is inevitably on its way.
My hunch is that this is our best bet.
To begin asking the BookBot your burning questions about all things persuasion and influence, click here: Mindstuck.ai
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Michael McQueen is a trends forecaster, change strategist and award-winning conference speaker.
He features regularly as a commentator on TV and radio and is a bestselling author of 10 books. His most recent book Mindstuck: Mastering the Art of Changing Minds explores the psychology of stubborness and the art of 21st century influence.
To see Michael speaking live, click here.
For more information on Michael's keynote speaking topics, michaelmcqueen.net/programs.
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[1] Ansari, T 2023, ‘Thousands of Authors Ask AI Chatbot Owners to Pay for Use of Their Work’, Wall Street Journal, 18 July.