AI is just dice

• You're not being replaced; you're being promoted from worker to Director of a high-speed intern

• AI is optimized for sounding right, not being right—which creates "polished disasters" without human judgment

• The magic isn't in the box; it's still in the person holding it

Here’s my latest video, or you can get the gist of it below.

Watch it here.

Why the "Magic" of AI Still Needs Your Unique Spark

Twenty years ago, I was teaching writing to high school and college students. My job was to help them find the soul in their work—that unique spark that only happens when one human tries to explain the world to another.

So when I first saw AI generate a seemingly perfect essay in three seconds, it didn't feel like a breakthrough. It felt like a personal attack.

It felt as though the magic of human thought had been captured and bottled. But now that I work in technology, I've realized something vital: there is no magic in the box. The magic is still in the person holding it.

AI is a Model, Not a Mind

These tools aren't thinking machines. They're Large Language Models—sophisticated probability engines.

Think of rolling two dice. You can build a mathematical model that predicts a seven is much more likely than a two. The model doesn't "know" what you'll roll next, but it predicts the probability with absolute accuracy.

That's what AI does. It has analyzed billions of sentences, paragraphs, and poems to predict the most likely "next" result. When you type a prompt, you're seeing "super autofill"—your iPhone's predictive text on steroids.

The model knows that in a professional email to your boss, calling her "bruh" is statistically unlikely. It chooses the polished path because that's what the patterns suggest.

But here's what the model lacks:

• No intent or purpose of its own

• No skin in the game

• No soul

It's a mirror of us, but with no human experience behind it.

You're Not Being Replaced—You're Being Promoted

When you realize AI is just math pretending to be a person, the power dynamic shifts. You aren't being replaced by a superior brain. You're being handed a high-speed intern who's designed to be statistically average.

Just as a seven is the most likely result of a dice roll, AI produces the most likely result. But you don't want average results. You want exceptional ones.

This is where you step into the role of Director:

• Human judgment moves you beyond "average" results

• Understanding the stakes gives you context AI can't grasp

• Your unique lens transforms grunt work into strategic vision

The Polished Disaster

Here's the danger: AI is optimized for sounding right, not for being right.

I recently used a top-tier AI to help a client with a complex supply chain ethics issue. It produced a five-page report that looked brilliant on the surface. But when I read it with a strategist's lens, it was wrong. It missed a subtle cultural nuance that only someone with 20 years of on-the-ground experience would catch.

If you let the machine lead, you get those "extraordinarily average" LinkedIn posts that look like a robot wrote them. Grammatically perfect but devoid of leadership. Polished disasters.

Keep Your Hand on the Wheel

AI isn't here to take your place. It's here to reinforce your voice.

The machine handles the high-speed production, but you provide the soul, the nuance, and the judgment. Don't let AI be the boss. It's a terrible boss but a magnificent intern.

Stay in control, maintain your judgment, and lead with the authority that only a human can provide. That's where the real magic happens.