"A stapler that talks" is the best description of most AI setups I've seen this year. Automated the hands, skipped everything that makes hands useful.
The deli counter image is perfect too because it captures something specific about how people adopt AI: they shop for capabilities instead of designing systems. Twelve agents by Tuesday, chaos by Wednesday. I've watched smart operators do exactly this, buy the best models, connect the best tools, and end up spending more time supervising the automation than they spent doing the work manually. The promotion to unpaid micromanager is real and nobody warns you about it on the sales page.
The stapler that talks line is such a good way to describe automation without judgment built in.
Thank you John!
"A stapler that talks" is the best description of most AI setups I've seen this year. Automated the hands, skipped everything that makes hands useful.
The deli counter image is perfect too because it captures something specific about how people adopt AI: they shop for capabilities instead of designing systems. Twelve agents by Tuesday, chaos by Wednesday. I've watched smart operators do exactly this, buy the best models, connect the best tools, and end up spending more time supervising the automation than they spent doing the work manually. The promotion to unpaid micromanager is real and nobody warns you about it on the sales page.
I am afraid you have lived it too, just like I did! 😂
The real shift comes from creating systems that protect attention, energy, and decision quality.
Interesting paradox, more automation often increases coordination load if delegation boundaries are unclear