Column Judith Witte: Me versus AI

Feeling the pressure. A looming deadline is hovering over me, I want to join a company visit, there's a long list of tasks awaiting me at home, I promised friends I'd drop by, and there's a training session I need to prepare for... Phew. Sound familiar? The temptation to ask CHATGPT to write my column right now is huge. But I WON'T. It's a matter of pride. But why, really? I suppose it's because this piece is a creation. It's a piece of me. I'm exposing a bit of myself here. And I don't just let that slide.

Then again, in this digital age, aren't we all exposing ourselves a bit too easily? And I'm not referring to the repugnant deepfake technology that can turn anyone into a nude woman. Research indicates that our cybersecurity is in a poor state. A fifth of small businesses take no action at all to ensure they are safe online. Of all the surveyed forms of cybercrime, phishing is the most common in the workplace. Six in ten employees would feel ashamed if they clicked on a phishing link. Yet, a staggering 19% of small businesses take no measures to ensure online safety. These are just a few findings from the Cybersecurity Survey Alert Online 2023; an annual awareness study conducted by I&O Research commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate.

The key seems to be the importance of continued independent thought. Which leads me to wonder, as many do in nowadays: 'Who are we as humans if computers do all (or most of) the thinking for us?' An answer that comes to mind is, 'Humans distinguish themselves from AI primarily in intuition, unexpected insights, and the 'disobedience' to think and act differently.'

I love to think. And those sudden insights. And, at least to some extent, a bit of that 'disobedience' – even if I may seem quite well behaved at first glance. Challenging, teasing, and provoking; it's invigorating. And behold; as I ponder and contemplate, I've suddenly reached the end of this column. This means I have ALL the time for my to-do list and, more importantly, for the human interactions that set me apart from robots and AI.

Judith Witte
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