Dave Birss

The best people are quitting because companies automated the wrong things.

I keep seeing people proudly announce they've got AI doing their writing, their design work, their strategy. The stuff that used to make them feel clever.

Meanwhile, they're drowning in admin, approval cycles, and tidying up the machine's mess.

Congratulations. You've just invented a worse job.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: most companies are implementing AI arse-backwards. They're measuring time saved while ignoring the fact that their best people now feel like glorified proofreaders.

82% of scientists using AI tools say they're more productive. They also say they're less happy. That should tell you something.

The problem isn't the technology. It's that we're optimising for the wrong thing. Speed isn't the same as satisfaction. Output isn't the same as pride.

Let the machine handle the tedious crap. The compliance checks. The formatting. The tenth draft of that email to legal.

But the creative wrestling, the breakthrough moment, the bit where your judgment actually matters? That stays human.

There's a better way to work with AI. And it starts with protecting the bits of work that actually matter to humans.

That’s what I write about in this week’s article.

Are there any tasks that you’re stubbornly holding onto? Are there tasks that you regret outsourcing to AI? Do you feel like you’ve lost a bit of joy in your day-to-day?

When you can't spot crap, you can't create excellence.

And right now, people are outsourcing their judgement to ChatGPT before they've even developed it themselves.

Just look at your LinkedIn feed, if you want proof.

Judgement isn't some mystical gift. It's a muscle you build through deliberate practice, studying great work, and the uncomfortable business of being wrong. It's what separates the brilliant from the mediocre, the valuable from the replaceable.

And it's quietly dying.

AI can produce a hundred options in seconds. But if you can't evaluate them, you're just an expensive button-pusher.

I've written about why judgement might be the most critical skill in business right now - and what happens when entire organisations lose it.

Read it if you’ve got any interest in a bright future. Keep on scrolling if you’re happy to consume mediocre slop.

And please tell me if you’ve noticed a drop in people’s standards. And where it’s most visible.

***NOTE TO AMERICAN READERS: I am actually spelling 'judgement' correctly for my part of the world. It's not my own poor judgement that's let a spelling error slip through.***