The Smarter AI Gets, the Dumber We Become. What Could Go Wrong?

AI is surpassing us not just in programming, but also in empathy, language, and emotional intelligence.

If you're still calm while machines learn to "feel," maybe you're the one about to be replaced.

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This week, Naval posted a tweet that forced me to sit down and finish this post.

Same week, Amazon's CEO confirmed they're cutting jobs amid the AI boom.

Just those two facts scared me a little.

Lately, my search history is full of AI-related questions:

• How do I adapt?
• What should I learn?
• Is it already too late?

Maybe I'm being paranoid.

But in a world where paranoia might be survival, you have to bet on it.

What surprises me is how calm some people are about all of this.

I can't play ostrich.

I need to think about how I'm going to surf this wave instead of drowning in it.

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Does AI Have More Emotional Intelligence Than You?

Here's the plot twist: models like ChatGPT-4 have already surpassed humans on emotional intelligence tests.

According to a study published in Nature, AI achieved 81% accuracy, while humans averaged just 56%.

It's not just code and automation. It's empathy, nuance, and emotional reading.

Yes, ChatGPT can be more romantic (or dramatic) than your ex.

This isn't science fiction. It's current reality.

People are already using ChatGPT as a work companion, a life companion (advisor of any type), and even for therapy.

If you work in IT, lead teams, write emails, or try to understand client moods… The things that made you valuable are disappearing. Fast.

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The "Godfather of AI" Advice: Become a Plumber

I watched a video of one of AI's pioneers (Nobel Prize winner) who literally said: "Learn plumbing."

Not a joke. Plumbers will have more job stability than "knowledge workers."

He said what's coming is unpredictable — and not in a good way.

And it's not another conspiracy theory — it's a warning from one of the brightest minds alive today.

Ironically, the more we depend on AI, the weaker and less capable we become.

Yes, AI gives us power, but it also makes us lazy. We develop a taste for not thinking and delegating it to an external entity.

A recent MIT study found that people who use ChatGPT intensively show lower brain activity in the zones associated with critical thinking.

No joke — ChatGPT is slowly making us less sharp, even when it seems like the opposite.

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It's Getting Easier to Spot AI-Written Garbage in Seconds

It's everywhere: LinkedIn, emails, newsletters, CVs.

You read it and immediately think: "This person didn't write this text" — I know them and they don't talk like that.

At first it impressed me. I played around with it. But now it feels empty. Superficial. Like a robot trying to sound poetic.

I prefer a human sentence with grammatical errors that's brutally honest over a tidy paragraph full of words nobody uses in real life.

If you want to sound original, don't let AI speak for you.

Use it for the technical stuff, not for your writing process.

Because, you know what?

Nobody wants to read something they themselves could have generated in 10 seconds.

And we're closer than ever to the "dead internet theory."

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No, You Don't Have to Go Amish — But Don't Become an AI Addict Either

I'm not saying you have to disconnect and live in the woods.

But please, don't abuse it.

If it gets out of hand, I have my Plan B: making pizzas and barbecue for a living.

Wouldn't bother me (because I don't even know how to do plumbing).

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So, What Can We Do Right Now?

This is the 6-point plan I'm applying to stay healthy, sharp, relevant, and above average:

1. Use AI as an exoskeleton, not a wheelchair. Let it amplify your judgment, not replace it.
2. Practice deliberate friction. At least once a day, solve something without AI assistance. Keep the muscle alive.
3. Invest in domain depth. The 50+ years of accumulated judgment in your field is the thing AI can't replicate with a prompt.
4. Write in your own voice. Nothing signals "replaceable" faster than content that sounds like everyone else's content.
5. Stay physically fit. Cognitive capacity tracks physical capacity more than anyone admits.
6. Pay for the tools. The $20/month gap between free and premium AI is the most asymmetric investment available to knowledge workers today.

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The future isn't knocking at the door.

It's already inside the house.

AI has crossed into emotional territory. The territory that used to be ours.

So… what do we do?

Adapt. Evolve.

Or become irrelevant.

Be Above Average or die trying.

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