Everyone Is Adding More AI. What If You Used Less Tech…or No Tech?
Ever since OpenAI’s ChatGPT exploded on the scene in 2022, I’ve been trying out AI tools, techniques, and approaches. Anytime a new technology comes along, I like to take a look at it and see how it can be applied to my work. And boy, were there many applications for innovation and design thinking work. Getting transcripts of interviews. Synthesizing insights. Generating ideas. Creating prototypes. I remember when collaborative real-time whiteboards transformed how I facilitate virtual sessions. So I can definitely appreciate the value of tech.
But think about the people in your workshops and meetings. They have so much tech around them. They’re facing a screen so much of the day.
Which is why a no-tech approach might stand out like lightning against a black sky.
Pitching an idea? Could you ditch the PowerPoint slides and just tell a real story instead? Your own story, or the story of somebody the idea would help. Not a bunch of pasted ChatGPT text on a screen.
Facilitating a workshop? What are the tactile, hands-on, person-to-person approaches you could use? Ones that involve people, or getting your hands on something, instead of screens.
Everybody else is zigging toward more tech. Where could you zag with no tech?
Fun fact: I first wrote about this idea back in 2017, five years before ChatGPT. https://darineich.com/no-tech-is-the-new-tech/ Our lives and work sure filled up with more tech since then. Seems like the time for the idea has finally come.
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