The past week saw two interesting announcements. One company’s founder discussed how they replaced 90% of their support staff with an AI chatbot, while AI evangelists shared the demonstration of a tool called AIR.ai and claimed it was the death of the customer service business. The AI had a slightly cringy conversation with a Tesla prospect, and the company claimed that as evidence of its technological superiority. The actual results of these experiments will only come out in 18–24 months. The CEO of Dukaan may not admit they had to hire more people because the AI had limitations, and the companies implementing AIR.ai will tell us about any improvements they made in their financials or customer experience. It would make sense to wait a while before beating the drums to signify victory. Resolving customer issues often requires creating exceptions to business processes and change management. While AI can manage a small aspect of that role, it requires much more training before you can trust it with change management.
I don’t have a problem with organizations or leaders being excited about the possibility of AI. It’s the hubris that gets to me. There are very few original ideas or products in the world. Most founders and products belong to the “Me Too” category, where they compete in heavily saturated markets. Hence, they are using AI to try and cut costs versus trying to solve complex business problems.
It’s not uncommon to see similar examples of hubris in the workplace. Most of us end up addressing the title versus the people. Leaders expect unflinching obedience, and this culture permeates throughout organizations. I was saddened by this scenario and wondered if the world was always like this when I read Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday. He begins the book by discussing the story of John F Kennedy and his role in defusing the Cuban missile crisis.
Kennedy became president when he was relatively young and came from a family of immense privilege. Since he had almost no administrative background, his first 1.5 years in the Whitehouse were brutal. He sanctioned the plan to invade Cuba and overthrow the Castro government. The result was a massive embarrassment for his government. Next, Kennedy had a diplomatic meeting with the Russian PM Nikita Khrushchev where he believed their lies about placing missiles in Cuba only for defensive purposes.
Hence, when he realized the true extent of Khrushchev’s betrayal, his family motto of “Don’t Get Mad, Get Even” would be ringing loudly in his ears. The easiest answer was to listen to all his advisers, invade Cuba, and taunt the Soviets to respond. That would be sending a strong message. However, Kennedy chose a different route. He had recently read a book called “The Guns of August,” which highlighted how overconfident world leaders rushed to initiate a fight, which spiraled out of control. Kennedy knew that one mistake from him could spell death for thousands of people. He asked his team to slow down, not go with their first reactions and focus on the bigger picture. He tried to understand the world from Russia’s perspective and realized that this was a desperate move made by a desperate nation that was scared. He came out with a plan to blockade Cuba versus going to war because this plan allowed him time to gauge the Russian intent. He kept any signs of ego aside and worked with leaders across party lines to convince them about the merits of using an armed response only as a last resort. The Russians escalated, but Kennedy refused to take the bait. The time he gave Russians showed them the eventual outcome of this conflict. Two nations would raze each other to the ground and leave no victors. The conflict blew away at the same speed it arose. The Russians declared they would remove missiles from Cuba, and Kennedy pledged not to invade Cuba. He also communicated to the Russians that in the next few months, the American missiles in Turkey would be removed.
This is so far removed from the chest-beating we see from political and business leaders today. Everyone seems perpetually angry and willing to beat the other side to submission. Whether it be AI replacing people, or countries debating technology transfers, the real impact of significant decisions takes years to measure. It’s foolish to make short-term decisions driven by ego or greed because, had Kennedy chosen that route, we could be living in a very different world today.
Learning Humility from Lord Hanuman
Lord Hanuman is the champion of many skills, but humility and devotion are the greatest weapons in his arsenal. He is an avatar of Lord Shiva himself and jumped up to eat the sun because he imagined it to be a sweet mango. Lord Indra, the king of Devas, was so taken aback that he threw his thunderbolt at him. The young Hanuman lay injured in the mountain with a broken jaw when all the gods came down to gift him boons to make up for Indra’s mistake. Hanuman was now invincible. Fire and water could not hurt him, and he was invulnerable to celestial weapons. Lord Brahma, the creator himself, became his guru, and Hanuman was the most powerful being in the world.
Yet let us see how Maharishi Valmiki chooses to introduce him in the Ramayana.
manojavam marutatulyavegam
jitendriyam buddhimatam varishtha |
vatatmajam vanarayuthamukhyam
shriramadutam sharanam prapadye |
(I take shelter of Shri Hanuman)
who is as quick as the mind and the wind,
One who is the master of the senses and is noted for his excellent wisdom, learning, and intelligence,
Who is the son of the wind god and the chief among the apes,
I bow down to the messenger of Shri Ram and go to his refuge.
Maharishi chooses to focus on all his virtues but ends by saying his greatest virtue is that he is the messenger of Sri Ram. If this was simply one instance, you could choose to ignore it. Let’s look at another example in the Ramcharitmanas, where Lord Hanuman introduces himself to Goddess Sita.
राम दूत मैं मातु जानकी
सत्य शपथ करुणानिधान की
I am a messenger of Lord Rama. I swear on Rama, the most compassionate one, that I am telling the truth.
The most powerful and intelligent being on this planet, who is an avatar of Lord Shiva, chooses his only identity as the messenger of Sri Ram. How do you invoke such humility in another person? The answer is simply unconditional love. This passage reminded me of Swami Vivekananda’s last moments before he passed away. The man known as the blazing light that illuminated the depths of Indian spirituality died, wanting to be known only as the student of his guru.
Siva, Oh Siva, carry my boat to the other shore.
After all, I am only the boy
who used to listen with rapt wonderment
to the wonderful words of Ramakrishna,
under the banyan tree in Dakshineshwar.
That is my true nature.
You cannot hope to achieve such selfless love till your master is an embodiment of ultimate love and compassion. I leave all of my Hindi-speaking friends with a beautiful poem by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar that captures the essence of Lord Hanuman.
