Irreplaceable: The Art of Standing Out in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Pascal Bornet
Wiley (September 2024)

“Software is eating the world, but AI is going to eat software.”  Jensen Huang

I agree with Huang as well as with Pascal Bornet: “Without human insight and interaction, AI loses its essence and purpose.”

For centuries, humans and machines have had highly productive collaborations. When we think about prime examples,  mass production of consumer products (e.g. automobiles and computers) come to mind but let’s not forget about the printing press (1455), steam engine (1765), reaper (1831), telegraph (1844), telephone (1876), internal combustion machine (also 1876), and electricity (1879) as evidence of the success of a human/machine collaboration. Then and now, both are essential to the success of such breakthrough collaborations.

Those who question that are urged to check out Bornet’s Table 17.1 “Typical split of roles between AI and humans (Pages 228-229). The functions covered: Decision-Making and Strategy, Innovation and Development, relationship and Business Development, Problem Solving and Crisis Management, Governance and compliance, Transaction Processing, Customer Service and Support, and Fraud and Detection and Security. For those who are curious about the division of labor issues, the material provided in Table 17.1 is worth far more than the cost of the book.

These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me in the Introduction and Parts I-III (Chapters 1-10), also listed to suggest †he nature and scope of Bornet’s coverage:

o Introduction (Pages 1-5)
o Adapting to AI’s Influence (9-23)
o Introducing the IRREPLACEABLE Concept (25-31)
o IRREPLACEABLE versus Replaceable: A Detailed Analysis (35-39)
o Thed IRREPLACEABLE Frmedwork (45-50)

o Shift Your Focus from Jobs to Skills (56-58)
o Table 4a.1 Technical skills that can be easily automated (61-62)
o Building Up a Symbiosis with AI (64-67)
o How the Humics Boost Each Other (71-72)
o Table 6.1 Examples of skills currently mastered by AI v(76-78) versus humans (2024)

o Sharpen Your Critical Thinking (92-94)
o A Three-Phase Approach to Augment Yourself with AI (101-119)
o The Art of Building Resilience (123-127)
o The Craft of Enhancing Adaptability (127-131)
o Envisioning a World Without Work (137-140)

The material provided in Table 17.1 suggests all manner of opportunities for humans to play an irreplaceable role during collaboration with AI. Those who absorb and digest the information, insights,  and counsel provided by Pascal Bornet will “stand out in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” And they will indeed help their organization to do so.

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading Irreplaceable: First, highlight key passages Also,  perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), page references, and whatever you have learned that will be most helpful. Pay special attention to the series of Tables that Pascal Bornet has strategically inserted throughout his lively and eloquent narrative.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite your frequent reviews of key material later.