The Mask and the Farce of AI
Why work became performance and what comes next
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Friends,
Everyone is using AI at work. No one is admitting it. And the more people try to hide it, the more obvious it becomes. Emails, reports, LinkedIn posts, presentations - they look like someone wrote them. But more often than not, they’ve been pushed through three tools before they hit your screen. Written by one. Cleaned by another. Checked by a third to make sure it sounds real. This isn’t intelligence. It’s a disguise.
Work now lives behind a mask. AI is in the process, in the habits, in the outcomes. But when asked, people say things like, “I’m experimenting.” They downplay. Shrug. Shift the subject. What began as convenience became cover. A person using machines to sound like a person, hoping no one notices the difference.
This shift has redrawn the map of modern work. Job titles haven’t changed. But behaviour has. People are showing up in one of several ways:
Seven Ways People Are Hiding in Plain Sight
The Ghost. Gets things done. Clean, fast, untraceable. Every message is machine-made. No one asks questions. The output flows, but the voice is gone.
The Editor. Starts with a draft, reworks it, and shapes the tone. Speaks in their own language and balances speed with meaning.
The Overlord. Automates everything. Rarely checks the signal. Launches volumes of work without reviewing any of it. Going for scale.
The Denier. Writes every word manually. Stands on principle. Often senior. Often stuck.
The Prompt Artist. Tunes inputs endlessly. Obsessed with structure. Optimises format. Ignores substance.
The Coach. Shares tools. Shapes thinking. Supports the team. Doesn’t need attention.
The Synthesiser. Moves with precision. Knows when to use help. Stays in control.
These aren’t personas or archetypes. They’re choices. Each one is a response to the same question: how do I stay credible without being exposed?
Which of the 7 are you?
The Cost of the Mask
A new employee sends a weekly update. It’s written with Claude. The manager replies, “Thanks – looks great.” Also written with Claude. No one thinks about the content. No one asks what mattered. The loop is complete. The moment passes. The opportunity to grow disappears.
Identity is shifting. People now paste borrowed words into Slack threads to sound thoughtful. They send summaries they didn’t write. They speak in phrases they don’t own. “Alignment moments.” “Intentional workflows.” “Cross-functional thinking.” It reads well. It sounds right. But something’s missing. And everyone senses it.
Mentorship is broken. The chain of learning has been cut. Before, the juniors learned by watching the experienced ones think. They saw edits. They saw reasoning. They watched decisions being made. Now they get feedback crafted by a model someone else prompted. No voice. No friction. No depth. What gets passed down isn’t skill. It’s formatting. They know how to deliver output. They never learn how to convey meaning. The thinking was done elsewhere.
When the Illusion Breaks
The performance has a shelf life. It ends soon. I predict that within two years, the mask drops. Not gradually. In one clear moment. A public figure admits how much they rely on support. Someone builds something that makes hiding pointless. Enough people stop pretending at the same time. And when that happens, the illusion breaks.
Work still needs ownership. Words still need a voice. More tools don’t mean better thinking. Polishing the surface doesn’t build trust. Not owning your voice isn’t leadership. In SuperSkills, the book I’ve been writing, I’ve defined the human capabilities needed right now. Not tool skills. Human ones. Built for pressure, sharpened by choice, and durable when everything else changes.
AI hasn’t replaced thinking. It’s replaced the need to prove you’ve thought at all.
One of them is the Augmented Mindset. This means knowing when to ask for support, when to step in, and when to carry the meaning yourself. Use the tools to think faster. Then own the final decision. Because your name is on it.
I’ve used GPTs. I’ve worked with Claude. I’ve seen the speed, the precision, the shift it brings. I’ve also seen what happens when the draft becomes the end. The voice flattens. The rhythm shifts. The meaning fades, and blandness takes over. When that happens, I start over. I want every line to sound like me. Even if it takes longer.
Originality is not in the tools. It’s in the choices. What to keep. What to change. What to say out loud. If the final sentence doesn’t reflect what you think, then it doesn’t matter who wrote it. It won’t connect. And it won’t last.
If you’re getting support, say so. If you lead others, create space for honest use. If you’re still learning, ask better questions. No more pretending. Be seen. Be responsible. Be real. Choose your AI stance. The future of work won’t be shaped by masking better. It will be shaped by clearer thinking. And meaning what you say.
We move forward by thinking louder and showing what we mean. I worked with AI on this piece. But I wrote it. The ideas are mine. The shape is mine. I used the tools to move faster and not to vanish. That’s the point.
Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,
PS. Please watch this guide to fast-track your understanding of AI, specifically using tools.
Here are my recommendations for this week:
One of the best tools to provide excellent reading and articles for your week is Refind. It’s a great tool for keeping ahead with “brain food” relevant to you and providing serendipity for some excellent articles that you may have missed. You can dip in and sign up for weekly, daily or something in between - what’s guaranteed is that the algorithm sends you only the best articles in your chosen area. It’s also free. Highly recommended. Sign up.
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AI Agents 101 - Feel left behind by what’s going on with AI? This comprehensive introduction provides a practical guide to building them for non-technical peeps and is perfect for beginners. It focuses on real-world applications rather than complex technical definitions. I highly recommend this after watching the video above. You could even start with this as it is presented for absolute beginners.
Scaling Helix: a New State of the Art in Humanoid Logistics - must see the video on this. If you didn’t think robots were going to take jobs, this is the one that will convince you. MUST SEE for 5 seconds
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