Humans Are Underrated: Proving Your Value in the Age of Brilliant Technology by Geoff Colvin

Humans Are Underrated: Proving Your Value in the Age of Brilliant Technology Reviews

• 
  ☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣

  Seriously, if storytelling is such a large chunk of what humans can do, sign me up for robotification right now. I firmly believe that storytelling is an evil undertaking designed to waste shitloads of my time and highjack large pieces of projects just to tell some story every-fucking-one already heard is some version somewhere sometime.
  Humans should be better at other stuff: intuition, thinking, imagination, inventing, being the masterminds behind the data-crunching macnines... Not making shit stories up.
• 
  Nelson Zagalo

  Depois de um livro que tinha gostado bastante, “Talent is Overrated. What really separates world-class performers from everybody else”, Colvin acaba desiludindo fortemente com esta espécie de sucessor, “Humans Are Underrated: What high achievers know that brilliant machines never will”. Apesar de seguir o mesmo estilo gladwelliano que tinha seguido antes, arrisca demasiado e espalha-se completamente, ou então, o facto de eu estar muito mais por dentro desta matéria, permitiu-me perceber o quanto esta fórmula de escrita pseudo-científica pode fazer mais mal do que bem à divulgação científica.
  
  Todo o livro assenta num conjunto de generalizações destiladas a partir de meia-dúzia de estudos, escolhidos apenas por suportarem as ideias do que se pretende veicular, uma fórmula iniciada por Malcolm Gladwell, daí o “gladwelliano”. São imensos os estudos de sociologia, psicologia, psicologia social, economia, etc. usados de forma isolada, sem contexto nem qualquer outro suporte, para se especular sobre o futuro, cometendo assim não apenas o erro da generalização dos pequenos estudos, mas a exponenciação desse erro por meio da tentativa de previsão de algo completamente impossível de prever.
  
  Colvin, seguindo a linha que tinha desenhado no seu livro anterior, tenta encontrar nos humanos, não aquilo que os separa das máquinas, mas aquilo que os pode vir a separar. Pelo meio decide assumir um recorte, sem explicar porquê, que as máquinas nunca poderão vir a ser semelhantes a nós, e que por isso não precisa de se preocupar com essa questão. Verdade que facilita o seu próprio trabalho, especular apenas sobre máquinas que não se podem confundir com os humanos, contudo fica-se com uma interrogação entrecortada, e sem nexo.
  
  A proposta essencial de Colvin assenta num conjunto de conceitos chave amplamente discutidos por toda a comunidade científica, e mesmo empresarial, ao longo de toda a última década, ficando nós a pensar, qual o objetivo do livro, bastaria um artigo de resenha. Porque para Colvin tudo assenta na Empatia, é ela, e só ela que nos poderá ajudar. Questiono-me o que dizer dos robôs que têm vindo a ser desenvolvidos com estes objetivos e com algum sucesso, na verdade o estabelecimento de laços de empatia com máquinas não é assim tão complexo, e é algo que se vem discutindo desde os anos 1990 com o livro “Media Equation” de Clifford Nass e Byron Reeves.
  
  Depois disso vem a Criatividade e o Storytelling, confessando eu aqui, que já não posso mais com toda esta loucura em redor destes dois conceitos. Sim são essenciais, mas se todos já sabemos disso dispensava-se bem o enchimento páginas e páginas. A última parte volta à empatia, mas agora para discutir a elevação da mulher a sexo forte, pela razão do seu superior poder de empatia, que diga-se não se distingue entre mulher e homem, mas entre Testosterona e Oxitocina, e Colvin acaba por o admitir. Mas não deixa de ser ingénuo da parte do autor, saltar para a conclusão de que no futuro não precisaremos de mais engenheiros, e as nossas mais valias irão resumir-se aos relacionamentos, quando por muito que as máquinas avancem, elas precisarão sempre de nós para nos compreenderem melhor, e darem-nos aquilo de que precisamos.
  
  E com isto chego ao final do que vale a pena neste livro, das conclusões a que cheguei logo nos primeiros capítulos mas que Colvin apenas toca levemente, quase no final, e tem que ver com a nossa relação com a Arte e a Máquina. Refletindo sobre aquilo que nos move enquanto apreciadores de arte, não são as obras, mas os criadores das mesmas. Não quero saber de um desenho num guardanapo até que me digam que foi Picasso que o desenhou, ou que foi um familiar já desaparecido que o concluiu antes de morrer. O que nos interessa na arte é aquilo que o Outro tem para dizer através da mesma, tudo o que enquadra o artefacto não passam da externalização dessas ideias pessoas do criador.
  
  Não poderei nunca interessar-me pelas ideias de uma máquina, se ela não for igual a mim, se ela não tiver as mesmas necessidades que eu (comida, sexo, medo,...) ou não durar o mesmo tempo de vida que eu. Como diz Colvin, pode até ser interessante a música criada por máquinas mas para usar como música ambiente no shopping ou no elevador, já que nunca iria deslocar-me à Casa da Música para ouvir um concerto composto e interpretado por uma máquina, menos ainda ver um filme, ou ler um livro criados por esta. Em certa medida isto é já o que acontece entre humanos com cultura demasiado distantes, em que a ausência de conhecimento dos códigos culturais nos impede de compreender o que está em questão. No caso da máquina, a alternativa será fazê-la falar como humano, e isso ainda fará pior, pois no momento em que o público perceba que não era um humano o autor do livro ou filme, vai sentir-se totalmente defraudado.
  
  É um livro que pode fazer-nos pensar um pouco sobre o assunto, mas pouco, para dizer o que disse, um artigo na revista Forbes, que é onde costuma escrever, tinha chegado perfeitamente e na verdade esse artigo existe, leiam-no em vez do livro.
  
  Publicado em:
  http://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/2...
• 
  Wynn Netherland

  A little slow to get started, Colvin spent so much time talking about how computers are putting us all out of work, I was expecting a pitch for basic income.
  
  The balance of the book does a good job of showing the power of empathy in the new economy, especially for large, dynamic organizations. The latter chapters are thought provoking, especially for anyone leading distributed teams.
  
• 
  Raz Pirata

  “Infotech is doubling in power every two years. I am not - and I’ll guess you are not either.”
  
  I remember walking down Houston St, about a quarter mile from FDR drive, when a gentleman of questionable sobriety appeared. He was howling at the heavens, “the future is here, the FUTURE IS HERE!”. (God I love New York)
  
  I shuffled my step to give his prophecy space when a few knuckle heads on the corner started egging him on. “Where is it brother? I can’t see it. I must’ve gone blind, where is the future?”
  
  Well, knuckleheads, the future is here. It is big and bold and it is coming for your job.
  
  “We must force ourselves to envision larger, faster changes than the mind blowing ones we’ve seen so far.”
  
  Geoff Colvin, author of Humans Are Underrated, will play John Conner in this future. He will be the one who saves you, and your career, from the takeover of the machines. As he outlines for us, in stark detail, the world we know is changing faster than we can perceive. Humans are Underrated, will prepare us on how to survive this cataclysmic shift from what we have always known, to what we can’t imagine.
  
  “The new high value skills are instead part of our deepest nature, the abilities that literally define us as humans.”
  
  In Colvin’s version of the future, machines have taken on much more of the workforce than we previously predicted. But what they can’t do, and ‘What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will’, is how to be authentically human. It is this that he proposes will save us.
  
  Colvin postulates that the skills of value in this future will be the ones from our past. That our greatest advantage will be our most essential human abilities: creativity, empathy, sensitivity, humor, storytelling and relationship building. That the high value skills of the workforce will be the ability to “be a people person”. To survive the shift in the employment marketplace, we must recapture the skill that too many of us have lost.
  
  Humans Are Underrated is an important conversation. One you should pay attention to. Because the future comes whether or not you are ready and this book is your heads up.
  So don’t get caught slippin’, or the future will leave you behind.
  
  Overall Score: 3.6 / 5.0
  
  In a Sentence: The only way to survive the labor market of the future is to reclaim the skills of your past.
• 
  Heep

  At times fascinating, but mostly the descriptions of what computers are able to do,or will be doing soon. I am a little doubtful that computers will be crowded out of "human" jobs - those emphasizing emotion and interaction. I suspect computers will be programmed for many of these activities too, and in some cases cost and accessibility may win out over our supposedly better bedside manner. Not all the time perhaps, but enough for there to be significant economic displacement And that is my greatest critique of the book - it does not credibly discuss the scale and speed of all the dislocation and economic change. Whole segments of jobs will disappear, and in cascading waves as computer technology finds a way to do a task cheaper and better than humans. How will economies adapt? How will people be retrained and relocated? There is an underlying algorithm in the development of this technology and it is the profit motive combined with analytics that will make it hard for economic or political policy to keep up. The book does not give a credible explanation of how this might get sorted out, and essentially says that for the moment there will be enough empathy jobs to stem the tide. It is a hopeful message just not a particularly compelling one.
• 
  Sasha Boersma

  If you read a lot on the topic, not a lot new. What I did like was what the author brought to the book for those who hadn't already read a lot on the topic.
  
  Right to the point - Humans are empathy machines who tell stories. Computers are logical and factual. Therefore the future jobs for humans are in empathy and storytelling.
  
  Before I returned the book to the library, I wish I made note of one thing that hit me, and that was he was't referring to the current economic era as the knowledge era - because knowledge is stored on the Internet. I will get my hands on the book again and make note of what he does call it. Because that was a fascinating concept to read and reflect on.
• 
  Wendi Lau

  What?! A computer can do legal discovery, financial planning, and medical diagnoses?! Anything requiring drawing on a wealth of information to make an informed decision is now better done by computers. (I thought it was just McDonalds and WalMart cashiers). That friend who can organize and incentivize her co-workers to stick to a schedule and produce their best work – she’s the hot commodity now. Not you with your computer science and math degrees. Can you listen and predict how your teammates will act, how the enemy will behave? If not, better learn, or risk becoming obsolete. This is the idea Geoff Colvin wants to get across. People skills matter a lot more than we thought.
  
  Two stories about teamwork blew my mind. (The book is full of interesting stories.) The first showed that women-dominated teams – more women than the other teams – always did better than other teams due to the way they cooperated and communicated. I have worked in workplaces with more women, both functioned well, but underlying girl-grumpiness was also present - moodiness that negatively affected the work environment. Women are notoriously moody, I wonder how teams with more females function better.
  
  The second teamwork story was about an elite golf team that competed on the world stage. The team organized by personality types and communication styles won. Teams organized by complementary skills or the best golfer for each position always lost. The team functioned differently and better when members worked as parts of a team than when the individuals considered their roles separately. This weird parts-of- a-whole concept is worth considering in light of how companies, communities, and countries normally function. If we need this big goal, this common thing that we swim toward, all in our own way supporting the whole, trying to achieve a goal, then everybody doing their own thing selfishly trying to maximize our own utility leads to an organism that disintegrates, dies. We can see this phenomenon in viral and bacterial communities; they function best, most healthfully, when they behave altruistically. Single-celled organisms do this!
  
  This was my big takeaway from this book. We have to behave differently for our group/company/country/free society to survive in the long run.
  
  This book would benefit anyone who plans to continue working for the next several decades. But it is of particular use to parents and educators incentivizing them to develop better ways to interact and socialize. These abilities would be the most meaningful things kids gain from an “education.” Alternatively, sports teach many of these soft skills.
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  Navneet Bhushan

  Being more and more human is the skill, ironically, will be what is needed more and more as our economic world shifts to more and more intelligent machines. This is the basic premise of the book. To be human and to leverage human skills of empathy, deeper understanding of the complex ways in which other humans work, respond and operate in a world where not only most mechanical jobs are going to increasingly intelligent machines, the ability to collaborate with other humans and empathise with them to create team work, to generate end value will be the demand. The aloof technology non social nerds or middle managers of the previous economic system will start getting booted out of the jobs that big corporates are gravitating towards.
  
  I would however like to point out this being one side of the story. Despite the so called improving intelligent machines, making them work together and with humans will require skills that may lead to disruptions of the big companies. The young unique newer type of technologies and their systems may be emerging in the next decade or so that may actually be radically different than what we have seen in the fifth wave of innovation 1990 to 2020. The 30 years have given us algorithms as economic vehicles of creating value - Google ebay amazon Facebook are all algorithms ! Contrast it to companies of the previous waves say GE PHILIPS Shell Toyota etc. How different are these two sets of companies.
  
  Perhaps the skill needed will be more to do with creating new organization's that leverage the next wave of innovation..the sixth wave that will driven by algorithmic intelligence and later quantum computing to give us nee ability to synthesise energy biology and in fact reality.
  
  Nevertheless a skill set based on human social interaction and the ability tow work with people is needed.
  
  Machined human social interaction skills will be more like it . Sort of human machine socio techno interaction system !
• 
  Nitin

  Awesome, insightful and thought-provoking with a highly readable style of writing. It definitely got me to re-appraise how I had been thinking of my own skills and competencies.
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  Edward

  This book puts us in a different perspective amidst the talk about technologies, computers and AI taking over our jobs. Technology is getting better every day and it is growing exponentially. A lot of things that we knew were not possibly performed by computers and machines are now becoming a reality. We should expect the trend to continue. However, instead of chasing to race against the machine, which for most tasks they will do better than humans, if not now but eventually, the author argues that we should look at things that human would do best, regardless of how well a computer would do.
  
  A number of true human abilities are listed in the book, including social sensibility for human-to-human interaction, the ultimate problem solving that involves finding the right problem to solve in the first place, story-telling and creativity and innovation.
  
  We can use technology to our advantage so that we can focus on doing what we human can do best. We are entering an era where focusing on true human qualities is ever more important than simply equipping ourselves to race against the machines. As technology becomes more and more powerful every year, the most valuable skill that people, corporations, educational systems, governments should harness are skills of empathy, collaboration, creation and leadership.
  
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  Haur Bin Chua

  Book on man vs machine and how man continue to have the upper hand in the challenge. This book explores how as technology advances, there are limits to which technology can replace human ingenuity. Ultimately humanity problems require human solutions which artificial intelligence are unable to come out with. And human solutions require creativity, empathy, trust & relationship at personal level, all of which cannot (or at least have yet to) be coded.
  
  Also highlighted as skills require to succeed are soft skills vs technical skills, women will have genetic advantage over men in the future world where team work, empathy, collaboration are traits more highly sought after than STEM related skills. While skills like coding might be commoditized in the future, this basically means a higher bar set for future generation as basic math and science does not cut it anymore. Hence disagree with author on the point where STEM takes a backseat vs humanities. It's like saying it's more important for a basketball player to communicate with his team mates than actually able to dribble, block or shoot.
  
  In summary, a combination of nuggets of information on why humanity needs humans rather than robots. At the end of day, we write the codes.
• 
  Kevin Eikenberry

  Geoff Colvin, the senior editor-at-large at Fortune wrote one of my favorite books of 2008 – Talent is Overrated. Now he’s written what will clearly be one of my favorites of 2015.
  
  This book took me on more of an emotional roller coaster ride than any great novel or whodunit. The first two chapters were informative and scary – telling just how fast computers (and technology-cousins robots of all sorts) are improving – and what they can already do that you may not be aware of.
  
  Then the book takes a turn looking at us as humans and what our world, businesses and lives need that computers can’t provide: relationships. Colvin makes a compelling case that we aren’t really knowledge workers but need to become relationship workers.
  
  After another scary chapter about how our current technology is eating away at the skills we will most need in the future, the rest of the book explores what we can do, what we need to do, and how we as individuals and as teams can become even more effective.
  
  - See more at:
  http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/commu...
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  John Orr

  I got very little out of this book. For me, it read too much like a middle school term paper. The author seems to think that providing a quote or clever anecdote provides sufficient evidence to prove his broad, sweeping economic predictions. Much of the book consists of the author making fairly mundane observations before leaping to conclusions that are either blindingly obvious or complete speculation. The idea that emotional intelligence is becoming more and more important in the modern world is nothing new, and yet this is the author's primary observation. I was hoping for a well researched book founded in economic principles and technological fact. Instead, I got a rambling jumble of speculation that would have been better off as an opinion piece for a national periodical.
• 
  Bill Pritchard

  Geoff Colvin has written an easy to read book that reads more like an essay - a call to the skills that this and future generations will need to refine and improve in order to better utilize the impacts of the improving technology around us. I found each chapter as a stand alone essay very thought provoking - it is the interactions and interpersonal skills between people and teams that will make for the greatest successes and improvements. It is an area that I don't excel in - and I consider it a wake up call that I work to improve in these areas. If you are in the workplace of anykind - especially in a corporate organization - I would consider this an essential read. Highly recommended.
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  Caitlin

  This is a book that I got from the library and now will be buying a copy of to foist on everyone I know. It is a great review of critical human skills that make our world better and will continue to, even as we increase our reliance on machines. Anyone wondering how they can improve themselves to be relevant in that not-so-distant future should read this. Has great commentary and examples of humans working in teams, for instance, and adding value through pure human social connection.
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  David R.

  Colvin lays down some depressing news about the future of humanity vis a vis technology. Technology will commoditize almost all jobs now done by humans and only a narrow set of "relational" occupations will remain truly human. As to how all this will come about when technology is also disrupting human interrelationships is anyone's guess.
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  Marco Morales

  It has good insights about our future coexisting with machines smarter than us. I consider interesting how the author argues our brain evolved at this high cognitive level mainly because we needed to interact socially. I don't really think it is completely accurate but it makes you think. Although it is kind of redundant at the end, it is worth reading.
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  JP

  A lovely book,
  There was common saying the technology going to outs the human employment.. In real the new invention eliminate the old one and not humans
  Author explains why better technology required and how it helps the human evolution.. an interesting write to read.
  Overall can Check it out..
• 
  Zivile

  Well, to be short, this book ensures that humans cannot be 100% replaced by machines, especially, where team work is essential. And to my surprise: the best teams are only where there are women included but not the smartest men, because apparently empathy is EVERYTHING.
• 
  sadiq

  Human to human relationships will never be mimicked by computers well enough for people to prefer them. Okay time will tell Mr Colvin
• 
  Don Putnam

  About a year after this book came out, I listened to a number of key note speakers from our IT management which left me feeling depressed (my job is in the IT sector). I've long suspected this and these speakers confirmed it. Automation, robotics and outsourcing IT work to India and other low-cost countries is the prevailing strategy of in-house IT. Other technology companies that actually produce software are probably in the same boat.
  
  If you are a manufacturer laborer or in the IT or engineering industries, your job will become a commodity in the next decade or so. And in this context, I agree with many who are considering Universal Basic Income (UBI). What will we do, as a planet, when millions of people are out of jobs due to automation? And if that wave comes more quickly than society can adjust, it will disrupt life as we've known it for the last 80 years. I've not seen too many dissenting opinion out job outlooks for the big middle part of the curve. And I stick to my opinion that having a job, and a fulfilling one at that, is and will be a luxury. Living on UBI is just a way tell 'the masses' to leave the massively wealthy alone.
  
  Colvin does a pretty good job of spreading the gloom. And he does offer some hope. In sum, if you are a woman, you have a leg up. Lean in on your femininity, social strengths and ability to empathize. And if you want to really change the world, get on an all-women team and stay there. And if you are a man, continue to pursue your preferred skills, but learn how to be a highly social being; learn to work well with women ... or just go find an all-male company and eek out an existence.
  
  Jobs of the future - for the big middle of the curve, it'll probably be a combination of UBI and some low-earning, enjoyable, life-skill or hobby that pays. Kids today will need to know and understand technology. But those who's strengths are in creativity, innovation, and empathy / working well in a team, will be the ones who "win" in the future - they will be the ones who have the luxury of having a traditional career as we know it today.
  
  In sum, jobs are becoming less of a means to survive and put food on the table, and more about a life experience. At some point, we all need to get comfortable with the idea that governments want to pay people to simply not wreck havoc on society, so that those who have luxury jobs can feel good about themselves.
• 
  Chris

  The world is changing fast. Computers are expanding their capacity to handle cognitive processes faster than humans have a chance of doing, and we can't keep up.
  
  Geoff Colvin asks the question, "Why should we?" Were humans made to work that mimics and rivals computational power and processes, or is there some other kind of work that computers will never imitate?
  
  This book focuses on the skills that computers are not able to recreate, and which not only will remain valuable in the changing economy but will actually become more valuable than ever for those in leadership positions: Social skills, empathy, and creativity. Not only are these skills in higher demand than ever, but they lead to a happy fulfilled life because they're the kind of tasks the people are uniquely created to do at their best!
  
  I'm not into economics, but this book really helped me understand why some sorts of tasks lead to more personal fulfillment than others, and how to continue to grow personally and professionally in a way that doesn't keep me looking over my shoulder constantly, waiting for a computer to catch up. Strong recommendation!
• 
  Rohit Tandekar

  A book that deals with the hot topic of technology disrupting organizations and AI taking over jobs. I recommend this book to everyone who's currently trying to understand what he or she is going to face in the future and how one can navigate through the uncertainties lying ahead.
  
  The author tries his best to anticipate the reader's apprehensions about the facts and stories he states and successfully manages to douse every tiny flame of doubt or apprehension he might have and thus weaves a well rounded defense that sides with humans staying relevant in organizations (and in the world) whilst facing technological advancement.
  
  My biggest takeaway from the book was how computers and technology is getting better at even the most "creative" of tasks - writing poems, producing movies or cooking. And that there will come a time when they will get as good as humans or even better. But we can take solace in the fact that humans like to consume products that are produced by other humans, when they can attach a name and face to the otherwise ordinary commodity.
• 
  Weltengeist

  By and large, I enjoyed reading this book. It's typical journalist-style (i.e., it usually relies more on anecdotes to "prove" its points than on empirical science), but it is entertaining and contains many an interesting observation. In my opinion not so much about the relationship between humans and AI but more about how we think, learn and cooperate.
  
  Only the last chapter I found rather disappointing. Here, the author tries to make predictions for the future, which is always treacherous terrain. For example, he claims that the increasing need for empathic employees will provide ample job opportunities for people who have majored in the humanities. I strongly doubt this - my own prediction would be more in the vein of "we will need more people who do both people AND tech", which would not make the situation for humanities as they are currently taught any better than it currently is.
  
  But ignoring the fashionable "what will we do when the computers have taken over all they can" hook, there's a lot you can learn about humans from this book. I rate it four out of five stars.
• 
  Mike

  
  Interesting view on what will be the valuable skills in the upcoming age of technology doing everything.
  
  Hardest things for Technology will be centered around people. Dealing with data and things will soon surpass humans in all jobs.
  
  Empathy is the core valuable skill for this next age. This is something that men are intrinsically bad at, and likely will be worse at empathy than machines themselves. (That's not saying much). Skill in working in collaborative teams which understand each others strengths and weaknesses, likely alongside technology, will be the key critical skill. Creativity will still have value, but it too is likely to soon be matched by technology.
  
  In the future working world, women have a natural personality bent which likely will make them much more valuable than men... economic woe be to the uneducated male.
• 
  Benjamin

  It's hard for me to say that this book is disappointing as I had low expectations coming in, but it fell below these. The book breezes over the technical aspects of AI, preferring to focus on the future social impact of AI and potential coping mechanisms. However, the author mostly just proposes one or two ideas and repeats them in different iterations. The lack of original thinking grows apparent very quickly as does the generally superficial level of the research. Midway through I thought I had gotten all I was going to get from the book and skimmed through the rest. This is an instance where my instincts (based on the cover) proved to be correct about the book.