When I was a kid, my school reports had two grades per lesson: one mark for attainment (how well I’d done) and one for effort (how hard I’d tried). I generally got As or Bs for attainment but always Ds for effort.

I was happy with these reports, but my parents saw it differently. They placed a higher value on the effort mark, and I never understood it. If my grades were low, I would have tried harder, but why bust a gut when you don’t need to?

Sure, there are times when you need to put effort in. But there are times when you don’t.

Effort can be its own reward; it can help you grow and learn and teach resilience. I get all that. Equally, though, there’s no point in suffering through unnecessary tedium when there are easy ways to get things done.

There is nothing noble about using a manual screwdriver when an electric one is 10x faster.

Chatbots Are a Dirty Little Secret

Fast-forward to today, and something similar to my school reports is happening with AI.

People increasingly use chatbots to achieve results faster and with less effort. But, unlike electric screwdrivers, they feel guilty about it.

AI has become a dirty little secret that users don’t want to admit to. Like porn, maybe; legal, but generally kept on the down low.

Like with adult material, the secrecy around AI usage doesn’t stem from any actual wrongdoing but from social stigma.

The Fear of Professional Judgment

Since childhood, people have conditioned us to value effort over attainment and to see shortcuts as cheating. It’s natural to assume that people will judge you unfavourably if you’ve used chatbots to accelerate your processes.

I’ve recently launched the AI Impacts podcast with a good friend of mine, George Little. On the show, we talk with people who use AI at work and in their lives. We’ve had some great chats, and we have more lined up.

However, many people have declined to appear on the show because they don’t want their bosses to know they use AI.

These potential guests are doing great work for their companies. They are using AI creatively and innovatively, and their employers clearly value them, so what’s the problem?

I think the problem is within rather than without. Preconditioned guilt is taking over; effort is good, shortcuts are bad.

After all, companies often spend a lot of money on efficiency tools and initiatives. Chatbots are as cheap as chips. What’s not to like?

What Does Your Boss Really Think?

In reality, most bosses are less interested in your effort and more interested in how you can make them look good, regardless of the tools or approaches you use to achieve this.

Who would you sooner employ, a sales rep who works 30 hours a week and beats their target every month or one who flogs their guts out for 50 hours a week and consistently fails?

Plus, chatbots are mainstream now, and your boss is probably using them. Why wouldn’t they?

You might be worried about your boss finding out and thinking, “Oh, we can sack them and just use AI instead,” but this would never work.

That’s like finding out your postman uses a van, and you sack them and rely on the van to deliver the mail by itself.

They probably feel the same inner turmoil as you about their chatbot usage. Broaching the subject with them could do you both a favour.

If you are worried about your boss’s thoughts, maybe ask them which chatbots they use.

Honesty Now Might Save You Problems in the Future

There’s another reason to start discussing your AI usage sooner rather than later.

There’s a well-worn phrase, “Work smarter, not harder”, that people often equate to slacking off. I’d say it’s more about applying the appropriate effort where it’s needed.

AI, particularly chatbots, are tools for augmentation rather than replacement – they help maximise the application of effort in the right places rather than replacing it.

I know this, you know this, and pretty soon, everyone in your company will know this.

How long will it be until AI use is mandated?

When that happens, your employer may expect you to increase your output. But what if you’re already using AI to help produce excellent results?

It’s better to set a positive example today than box yourself into a corner later. If you become an advocate for AI, your standing may well rise. The revolution is coming, and employers will need experts.

Embracing AI: Using Chatbots Isn’t Cheating

In a previous post, I discussed how removing AI’s secretive status is critical to fixing the dark side of ai-assisted creativity, and the same applies here.

It’s time to shift our perspective on using AI from a shady shortcut to an openly acknowledged tool for innovation and efficiency – chatbots are a tool for enhancing human capabilities, not replacing them.

We all need to be honest and not only admit that we use AI but do so with pride.

Using AI chatbots is not cheating. It is an innovative and legitimate way to enhance our work and will be increasingly essential in the workplace.