AI knows, Jon Snow doesn't
For 1 week, Mr A and I exchanged emails.
The replies were professional. Detailed and well thought out.
Mr A replied like a seasoned professional with two decades of experience.
By the end of the week, we had agreed to move forward with the project. All that was left to discuss was the investment.
A video call was scheduled.
I prepared well, created slides, and wore a fresh shirt, as you should at a professional presentation.
Mr A joined the call. Within the first 2 minutes, it was clear that his command over the spoken aspect of the English language was not as polished as his command over the written word. Happens often in India; I didn’t think anything of it.
Then he asked, “What is this call about?” I politely replied that the agenda was shared in the last email, and you agreed to it.
He again asked, “No. I was asking why we are speaking. What do you do?” I wasn’t prepared for that question after a week of email exchanges.
After a few more minutes, it dawned on me that the email writer was not the same person attending the meeting. Therefore, I asked a rather blunt question: “Who writes your emails? It is very apparent to me that you have no idea what was discussed in them.” Mr A was a bit flustered, indignant even, then meekly admitted that it was some AI tool.
Here I was sitting in front of the camera while a series of emotions battered me: anger, frustration, rage, and admiration for the AI. I ended the call after asking Mr A to read the emails before we spoke further.
Just because the deal is done doesn’t mean the person doing the deal knows it, especially if it is over email.
Beware.
AI knows what was decided.
Jon Snow knows nothing.
Welcome to the era of smart AI.