Your anti robot strategy

The robots are coming. Actually, no – they're already here.

You've probably noticed this, right? The quiet creep of automation, AI tools going from "cute novelty" to "disturbingly competent" in what feels like overnight.

Every week brings another headline about functions being automated or jobs becoming obsolete. ChatGPT writing better emails than you. Some algorithm making diagnostic calls better than doctors with 20 years of experience.

It's enough to make you question everything.

But here's the thing that most people miss: this tech revolution isn't just replacing jobs – it's redefining what work even means.

And that shift creates a rare and beautiful opportunity for those willing to embrace it.

The Great Divide

Let's get honest about where things are heading. The professional world is splitting into two distinct camps:

First, the Soon-to-be Automated.

All those tasks that follow predictable patterns, work based on processing existing information, jobs requiring precision but not imagination.

You know the type – roles where "efficiency" and "optimisation" are the primary metrics. The stuff that makes management consultants salivate and spreadsheets rule.

Second, The Uniquely Human.

Work that dances between logic and feeling. That weaves connections no algorithm can predict. Work that doesn’t just solve problems — it creates meaning.

These are the roles where the metrics include delight, meaning, and connection – not just output and optimisation.

Which category would you say your current job falls into?

I for one have been asking myself this question relentlessly since reading about McKinsey's "Creativity Index" – where companies scoring high consistently outperform competitors in both innovation (growth) and shareholder return (profit).

This isn't just some fluffy concept. The World Economic Forum now ranks creativity in the top three skills needed to thrive in the coming decade. LinkedIn has creativity as the number one "soft skill" employers are looking for.

The signs couldn't be clearer: busy can be automated. Creativity cannot.

You Were Born for This

"But I'm not creative."

I hear this all the time. Perhaps you've said it yourself.

It's a lie. A complete fabrication that you've been conditioned to believe. You see, we were all born creative geniuses.

This isn't my opinion – it's been scientifically proven. In the 1960s, a researcher named George Land developed a creativity test for NASA to identify innovative engineers. On a whim, he decided to test it on children.

The results? 98% of 5-year-olds scored at the "creative genius" level.

The same test given to adults? Only 2% scored at that level.

You see, you are creative. It’s just that somewhere along the way, you were taught to forget.

You were taught that curiosity is childish. That colouring outside the lines is a mistake. That questions are dangerous.

But what the world needs now — more than ever — is people who remember. Who still know how to wonder, to make, to imagine.

The robots are here, yes.

But so are you.

What Can You Do?

OK, so how do we fix this? How do you reclaim your natural creative abilities and transform yourself back into the creative genius you once were?

Here’s where you start:

Make Space For Wonder

Take fifteen minutes and explore something, anything, with no goal. No 'output'. Listen to a song you’ve never heard before. Read an article on a topic you know nothing about. Sketch something badly.

The point isn’t to produce. The point is to remember what it feels like to follow fascination.

Ask Better Questions

Instead of “How do I get this done?” ask, “What could this become?”

Instead of “What’s the fastest way?” ask, “What’s the most beautiful way?”

Shift the lens. Invite surprise.

Make One Brave Thing

Not a perfect thing. Not a thing you know everyone will applaud. One brave thing. Share an unfinished idea. Start a conversation that feels a little risky. Build the rough draft of something you've been thinking about but haven't dared begin.

The future belongs to those willing to make, without guarantees.

Your Anti-Robot Strategy

You don't need to become more creative – you need to become more of who you already are.

You were born with this ability. It's just been buried, not lost.

Remember that your mind is not a processor. It’s a storm. A forge. A garden.

No robot can dream the way you can. No AI can weave sorrow and hope and longing into something new. That’s yours. It always has been.

The future isn't waiting. But you don’t have to wait either. You can start right now.

And when you do that? You become irreplaceable.

That's your anti-robot strategy.

Until next time,

Jon "actually a creative genius" Kaye

Finding meaning in Monday mornings

P.S.

Share your one unfinished scrappy idea with me. No judgement here. Reply to this email. Just press send and let it out into the world. This is mine.