When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he reframed competition. If it meant that for Apple to win, Microsoft had to lose, then Apple was going to lose. Instead, Jobs insisted that Apple had to discover and get back to the values that made Apple great. “It’s not about speeds and feeds,” he said. Apple entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft, and the rest is history.

It is oddly similar when we think about the narrative of humans being displaced by AI. If for humans to win, AI has to lose, then humans will always lose. So what are our values that we should get back to that make us great, and which AI cannot match? Perhaps:

Imagination: Einstein’s famous thought experiment about chasing a beam of light which played a role in the formulation of theory of relativity.

Curiosity: Wright brothers observing birds in flight and asking ‘what if?’

Intrinsic Purpose: The ‘Forest Man of India’, Jadav Payeng, single-handedly planting thousands of trees over 40 years transforming barren land into a 1300 acre forest.

‍ Empathy & Service: Mother Teresa exemplifying empathy as deeply understanding another’s suffering and devoting her life to service.

Conscience & Ethics - Deciding to whistleblow on corporate misconduct, weighing personal harm and justice.

Just like Apple partnered with Microsoft, for humans, AI is a force multiplying ally. This reframing of competition is interesting. If the race is defined as a marathon, then we cannot outrun AI. Instead, if the race is a decathlon of ‘events’ such as the list above, then the unstoppable tireless runner is not necessarily the champion.

Each of these values needs to be not taken for granted, and needs to be continuously invested in and expanded.

What do you think?