📧 Complex vs. Complicated - Happy Thanksgiving

Intelligence isn't that impressive. Consciousness is very impressive

Author

Ed Krystosik
November 28, 2024

Hi there, Ed here.

[This short newsletter is an adaptation of an issue I wrote in March of this year. It felt like a good time to share these thoughts again going into the new year. The four-part series on lead flow management starts next week—Happy Thanksgiving.]

Complex vs. Complicated.

I was listening to an excellent podcast (You Made it Weird w/ Pete Holmes) on a flight the other day.

Comedian Jimmy Carr was the guest, and very near the end of the episode, Pete asked Jimmy what he thought about AI and how it would affect how we work.

Jimmy’s answer made me pause the episode and think deeply about how I believe AI fits into our entrepreneurial endeavors.

Here’s what Jimmy said:

“Intelligence isn't that impressive. Consciousness is very impressive.

Because there are complex problems, and there are complicated problems. It's complicated to put a man on the moon. Give me complicated all day. It's just the next step. It's the left brain; it's lots and lots of things in a row. No matter how many things in a row, we know what comes next.

Complex is impossible to know. To know [if] is there a God, what happens after we die, which sports team will win, is complex, not complicated.

AI is very good at the complicated.

And I think [AI] will simplify our lives.”

Jimmy Carr, Comedian

What he said solidified what we’ve been discussing in this community.

AI will most certainly do the heavy lifting in our daily lives, completing complicated, mundane tasks (and aiding with some interesting ones) without complaining or tiring.

But AI isn't even close to competing with humans when it comes to the skills that successful, fulfilled entrepreneurs excel at, like empathy, reasoning, creativity, and relationship building—the complex stuff.

And I would bet a good portion of my revenue that AI won’t for a long time—maybe ever.

That’s why I’m focusing on using AI to fill in the gaps between traditional workflow automation and preparing information for the complex tasks humans excel at.

I believe the real gains will happen if we consider AI a helper rather than a technology that will replace the valuable work we do every day.

Speaking of…

One of those complicated AND complex tasks we do every day is marketing. AI is a crucial tool to master if you’re going to compete in today’s market. My friend Mike Fishbein writes an excellent newsletter that I get a lot of value from every week. Give it a read, I think you’ll agree —

AI Marketing BriefGet the latest news and resources in AI for marketing. Join 1,000+ marketers who read 5-minute briefs every Friday.

OK. That’s all. I'll talk to you next week when we will get into the four-part series on lead flow management using AI. There are plenty of templates and explainer videos to come!

-Ed

Ed Krystosik
Co-founder of RAC Projects AI
AI Automation Agency for Business Growth

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