People Managing People What We’re Getting Wrong About AI and Productivity
Feb 10, 2026
Dr. Vivienne Ming, theoretical neuroscientist and entrepreneur studying AI and human cognition, warns that AI convenience can erode human judgment. She contrasts cognitive automation with cognitive augmentation. Short, provocative takes cover data quality harms, using AI as a nemesis to sharpen thinking, and preserving mentors and early-career learning to protect professional judgment.
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Make AI Your Loyal Opposition
- Use AI as a critical opponent, not a ghostwriter: challenge your work to improve it.
- Vivienne Ming used a "nemesis" prompt to force the model to find errors and suggest improvements.
Hybrid Teams Beat Solo AI Or Humans
- Hybrid collective intelligence (humans + AI) outperforms either alone when humans engage deeply.
- Ming's preliminary study shows modestly skilled teams with AI can match expert prediction markets for hard-to-predict outcomes.
Efficiency Metrics Miss Amplifying People
- Traditional efficiency metrics miss higher-order productivity where some people amplify others.
- Ming found ~11% of employees produced 80% of untracked productivity by helping others inefficiently.