It is my belief that we should be people first and AI-enhanced.

A New Buzzword Link to heading

Every few months, the tech world grabs onto some shiny new phrase. Lately, I have noticed one I believe is more dangerous than most. That phrase is “AI-first”. It sounds bold, progressive, and future-proof, doesn’t it? However, I would argue that it engenders a risk of putting trust in a digital casino over humans.

This is my opinion; however, it is based on several things. I have been a software engineer for over 20 years. Being an early adopter of AI back when Co-pilot came out for dev-preview in mid-2021. I have used every major AI and currently use Windsurf with GPT-5. I have seen firsthand the benefits and dangers of AI.

The truth is, today’s AI systems aren’t really “artificial intelligence”, they are probability engines. At their core, they use fancy algorithms to guess the next most probable word. These machines are good at what they do and highly optimized to give the best answers possible. However, they are more akin to a casino where you are the house. Most of the time the response will be reasonable and in your favor; however, in an AI-first world, can you afford it when it isn’t?

Building a business around the concept that AI should lead rather than support creates some dangerous blind spots.

  • AI can’t think for you. It augments, but doesn’t replace judgment, creativity, or strategy.

  • AI is brittle. What looks flawless in a demo often breaks under messy real-world usage.

  • AI is not a moat. Everyone can access the same models, so being “AI First” rarely gives any tangible benefits outside of cheap marketing tricks

Critical Thought Link to heading

Let’s ask some critical questions about AI.

  1. If the technology is so good, why aren’t the AI companies using it to take over everything in the software world?

  2. What happens in future court cases that find AI content is infringing on copyrights, trademarks, patents, or licenses

  3. Who is legally liable when AI gives the wrong information?

  4. With most AI companies hemorrhaging money, what do you do when the tools you are using vanish or 10x in price?

  5. Do your customers want to interact with AI or real people, and will they be forgiving of AI mistakes?

These are just a few of the messy real-world questions we have to be asking when adopting something as dangerous as “AI First.”

Real World Link to heading

We can already see that these questions are facing real world tests such as when Air Canada was held liable for its chatbot

Also remember that all of this AI was trained on what is out there on the internet. Then refined at scale. You are not getting the best humanity has to offer; you are getting the average humanity has to offer… at least as long as the dice come up in your favor.

So we come back to the question: are you willing to trust your business, reputation, and customers to the casino that is an LLM, or do you want humans acting as your vanguard and leading the way?

To me, it seems AI first is yet another in a long line of corporate buzzword concocted and implemented by people who do not understand the technology they are working with. However, due to the unique rewards and risks associated with AI, it is much more dangerous than most. It is my belief that we should be people first, AI-enhanced.