And yet, as my colleague Jeremy Kahn writes so eloquently in his new book, Mastering AI, we’re clearly on the precipice of having our lives transformed by technology that can heighten or threaten the essence of who we are. As he told Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell at his book launch in New York last night, humans have long harnessed the power of animals and technologies that exceed our physical power. “We never really defined ourselves as a species based on brawn,” he said. AI, on the other hand, “challenges what makes us unique as a species, which is really our intelligence.”

Those of you who read Jeremy’s articles or his Eye on AI newsletter know that he’s attuned to both the potential and the perils of AI. After almost a decade of covering cutting-edge technologies, he’s a master at connecting the dots. What I found most thought-provoking about his book and his comments last night is the potential consequence of outsourcing too much to any technology. We’ve already seen what our current tools have done to our abilities to remember phone numbers or navigate city streets, never mind its impact on public trust and mental health.

Will AI enhance our expertise or ultimately diminish it?

Take, for example, the fact that ChatGPT can take our ideas and mold them into an argument. “Writing and thinking are not separable activities,” Jeremy argued. “I think when you lose your writing ability, you actually lose your thinking ability to some extent.” And if we outsource judgement, he added, “we will lose the ability to think critically.”

And yet, of course, the potential for AI to unleash creativity and innovation is immense. Maybe that’s why the book’s subtitle is “a survival guide to our superpowered future.” Here you can read an excerpt about how AI—with its hidden biases—may already be shaping how you think.

The greatest protection against losing ourselves to any algorithm is the human act of connection and conversation. Jeremy and my colleagues will no doubt debate these shifts with Fortune 500 leaders, founders, investors and other stakeholders next week at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City, Utah. Recognizing the scale and transformative impact of AI across all parts of society, we’re also bringing together leaders from business, government and academia later this month for Fortune Brainstorm AI in Singapore, and again in December for Fortune Brainstorm AI in San Francisco.

But history is what happens on the ground, in rooms where we don’t always get to go. I’m curious about your own experiences with AI. Is it over-hyped, under-appreciated—or both?

More news below.

Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
Follow on LinkedIn

TOP NEWS

The rise of weight-loss startups

Startups like Noom and Calibrate promise customers that they can take a weight-loss drug like Ozempic temporarily—and make them thin permanently. That’s attractive to patients, who aren’t keen on taking a drug long-term, in part due to cost. Yet doctors say the so-called metabolic reset isn’t real, as people quickly regain weight once they stop taking Ozempic or Zepbound. Fortune

Goldman's turnaround

A year ago, critics were calling on Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon to step down. But a new analyst note hails the "David Solomon era" as a big success, citing growing market share for the bank's global banking and markets division. Goldman's shares are up 21% year-to-date and have gained nearly 53% since the end of October. Fortune

Banking on remote work

Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of female-focused investment platform Ellevest, is sticking with her all-remote policy even as the rest of the financial industry calls people back to the office. She notes that giving up a fixed office space allowed Ellevest to hire from anywhere in the country. Krawchek also argues that remote work is good for gender equality: “Particularly for women who have kids, [it’s valuable to] keep the kids at school in whatever city they’re in,” she says. Fortune

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Trump’s policies paint a ‘negative picture,’ yet his willingness to ‘cut deals’ may help with China, says the CEO of Southeast Asia’s largest bank by Lionel Lim

The most lucrative trade job in the U.S. pays over $100,000 per year—but you’ll have to be comfortable with tight spaces and heights by Orianna Rosa Royle

China’s businesses are ‘noticeably ahead’ of the rest of the world when it comes to adopting AI—and preparing for the inevitable regulations by Nicholas Gordon

The man dubbed ‘Britain’s Warren Buffett’ blames falling vet visits—not his refusal to back Nvidia—for poor performance of U.K.’s biggest fund by Ryan Hogg

Why Lyft and Twitch succeeded while Quibi and Kodak failed—and why smart entrepreneurs focus on inflections by Mike Maples Jr. and Peter Ziebelman

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.