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I take a few minutes to write my morning pages every morning, almost without fail. I’m something of an automation evangelist, but morning pages have nothing to do with efficiency. These are the opposite of technology forward and I don’t even run them on my tablet or computer. no. I get out my old school pen and notebook and run with it by hand. (I can hear you gasping, Gen Z readers).
I’ve spent much of my career thinking about ways to make people’s lives easier. to Eliminate monotonous and boring tasks That money would be better spent on more interesting work. But the morning paper is unique. They are a daily opportunity for me to clear my head, organize my thoughts, and prepare for the next day. It cannot be hacked or optimized. And that’s exactly the point.
As organizations race to integrate AI into every workflow, much of the discussion centers on which processes AI can take over next. But I would argue that an important piece of the puzzle is still missing. Rather than what AI should do next, what should it not do? What tasks should remain distinctly human, not because AI can’t do it, but because something important would be lost if AI could do it?
The cost of outsourcing everything
AI is already a capable colleague, and it’s getting smarter. Powerful new models are continually being released that can handle tasks that were impossible to perform a few months ago.
I love that I can build AI agents that can do everything from organizing my emails to vibe-coding my MVP. We also recognize that new graduates may not need to learn the basic skills that come with a monotonous job. After all, why should a junior analyst spend hours building a financial model from scratch when AI can generate one in minutes? Why should a new hire struggle with drafting a customer note when a polished version can be ready in no time?
However, some of these shortcuts may be harmful in the long run. According to the study from Harvard Business School, AI is increasingly taking over repetitive tasks that once served as a training ground for developing professional judgment. The risk is that we could inadvertently create an entire generation of managers who have never done the job they are being asked to oversee.
Even seasoned employees are at risk of losing their hard-earned critical thinking skills. MIT Media Lab divided Fifty-four subjects were divided into three groups and asked to write an SAT essay. The first group had access to ChatGPT, the second group had access to Google, and the third group had no access to the tool at all. Analyzing brain activity, the researchers found that the group using ChatGPT had the least brain engagement of all three groups, with “consistently poorer performance at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” Researchers call this “cognitive debt.” This is the hidden cost of having AI do the thinking for us.
Where AI free zones make sense
None of these are arguments against AI. Instead, we recognize that not all work is created equal, and not all work is ripe for optimization.
The main differences are: Some tasks exist because of what they produce, while others exist because of what they build. AI excels in the first category, and much of what it creates, whether it’s a first draft or a block of code, can be executed faster than humans. But the second category—jobs that require judgment, relationships, and creativity—often require the kinds of struggles that AI is designed to eliminate.
It’s up to leaders and their teams to decide where exactly these boundaries are set. The answer may not be immediately obvious and may change over time. To help you think it through, I would like to ask you the following questions:
Is this a job where we learn the skills we value by struggling and overcoming challenges?
Does this work require ethical judgment or nuance that AI cannot reliably provide?
Would your relationships with customers, colleagues, and direct reports benefit from a human touch during a crisis?
This is also one reason why employees are divided into small cross-functional teams. Not only does everyone benefit from learning from each other’s expertise, but you’re also actively stretching your teamwork muscles every day. Different perspectives are discussed, assumptions are questioned, and decisions are made collectively. In a team environment, AI can facilitate certain tasks, but it cannot replace the emotional intelligence developed through collaboration.
final thoughts
AI is a very powerful tool. But so do our own minds. At first glance, writing the morning paper may seem like an impractical and inefficient process. it’s okay. I know they make my thinking sharper, my creativity more powerful, and my ideas more my own. I also know that I wouldn’t have been able to run a successful business over the past 20 years if I had outsourced my thinking. Some things are worth protecting from optimization. Not because AI can’t do it, but because it’s important that we do it ourselves.
