A fictional graduate consultant has been reassured that artificial intelligence will never replace the vital human role of taking responsibility for something artificial intelligence has done.
Lucy, 22, had feared that software capable of producing research, spreadsheets and presentations might leave little for her to do. Her manager explained that the software could not yet join a client call looking as though it had personally let everyone down.
“That’s where you come in,” he said.
The firm’s new graduate training programme combines advanced prompting with traditional professional skills, including nodding while a partner explains the output of a tool the graduate taught him to use that morning.
Modules include Challenging the Machine Respectfully, Reformatting Automated Excellence and Accepting Feedback on a Document Nobody Has Read.
Lucy’s first assignment was to check a machine-generated report containing a company that did not exist, a plausible-looking citation and a recommendation to acquire Belgium.
She removed all three. The resulting improvement was recorded as an AI productivity gain.
When she asked whether the extra time could be used for training, her manager explained that the firm had already committed those hours to another client. This was what the industry meant by unlocking human potential.
The graduate was particularly relieved to learn that the partner would remain fully accountable for the engagement, although all questions about the report had been forwarded to her.
At her first appraisal she was praised for embracing innovation, then advised to develop more original thinking because her work sounded like AI.
The machine has received excellent feedback. Lucy has been asked to show greater ownership.
