I got a promotion at the bank about a month ago and my first reward on the first day of the new role was a VPN connectivity issue that forced me to work from the branch instead of home. I shot out at lunch to pick my daughter up from high school and she looked at me very strange when she got in the car.
“Why are you wearing a tie?”
“I had to work at the office today babe.”
“You normally only go in on Tuesday, today is Monday.”
“Crazy story, I got a promotion but my computer isn’t working at home for some reason.”
This part made my day.
“You mean the promotion that you and Mom had been praying for?”
Someone was listening.
“Yes, babe.”
She congratulated me and the high school freshman seemed to be vested and genuinely happy for me so I dug in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone to show her the email announcement.
That’s when things went left.
Cadyn could care less about my American Banking Association certifications. There were some really nice things in the message about my leadership skills and contributions to the business and if she read them, she didn’t comment on any of it. My daughter laser focused on one thing…this:
The jovial atmosphere on the way home was pierced by this question:
“Dad, who is this?”
I was confused so I looked over.
“That’s me.”
“No, it’s not. That looks like my cousin Jarrell or something but it doesn’t look like you.”
Imagine for a moment working your behind off to be elevated. This promotion carried with it all of the things: late nights, early mornings, inconveniences, disappointments, perseverance and you cross the finish line and take a moment to celebrate and you’re told by someone who loves you, told by someone who means you well, told by someone that means you absolutely no ill will in the world that they don’t even recognize you.
That’s my beef with Artificial Intelligence.
I have over 2,000 selfies on my cell phone (stop judging me) but when I was asked for a headshot for the announcement, I found flaws and failures with each of them. I didn’t like the pose, or the tie or it looked too churchy for a corporate position so I reached past my reality for perfection.
AI will make my skin smooth.
AI will ensure my tie is straight.
AI will give me the perfect background.
AI will accentuate what looks good about me.
AI will make sure my beard doesn’t have straggly whiskers.
AI will provide the perfect visual to match these glowing words.
And it did. 2-3 prompts later and I was highly pleased. No moles on my face. No wrinkles by my eye. Perfect moustache. Perfect beard. Lighting was exquisite.
It took the AI engine about 3 minutes to create my headshot and eliminate my identity at the same time.
I will go on record and reflect that I have absolutely no idea how much more AI will ingratiate itself into our lives- I expect that we are in the middle of an absolute revolution that will touch many aspects of all that we do but my chat with my daughter provided me some valuable insight.
Allow me to remind you just as she reminded me that you are you. You being you is your superpower. No one else has ever been you and no one else can ever be you. No tech company can be you. No data center can recreate you. No carefully worded prompt can ever make another you.
When people see you in your official capacity, they are not looking for airbrushed, perfectly manicured, abundantly coifed you. They’re looking for the real you. Show it to them. That’s my plan. Unless I’m using AI to create a joke, when you see me, you’ll see me. It won’t be flawless, but it will be Sterling.
Flaws and All.
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