Climb the Mountain or Fly a Helicopter?
Imagine you want to get to the top of a mountain. You have two options.
You could climb it. You'd walk past the river, smell the forest, work your way up through the trees, and eventually reach the snow peak. Or you could simply fly a helicopter to the top and land there.
Both get you to the summit. Only one of them is an experience. Getting a helicopter to the top is not a life experience.
What Happens When the Helicopter Goes Wrong
AI is increasingly the helicopter. You ask for the answer, and you're dropped right at the top.
The worst case is a hallucination, which is when AI produces something that sounds confident but is wrong. In that case, the helicopter may have taken you to the wrong mountain. You only asked to get to the top of a mountain, so how would you know?
And in the other sense, even when it lands on the right peak, you never knew how you got there. You didn't pass the river. You didn't pick up the flowers. You didn't have a journey. You just arrived.
So What's the Value in the Journey?
The journey is where the learning happens. In a business setting, it's the feedback you collect on the way up, the peer review pieces along the path, and the experience of working through a problem yourself. Having climbed it is an experience in itself.
If AI skips all of that, you can end up with an answer you can't fully explain, defend, or build on.
Use the Helicopter Wisely
None of this means avoiding AI. A helicopter is a remarkable tool, and some terrain is better crossed from the air. The skill is knowing when to fly and when to walk. Here's how we think about it:
- Keep checkpoints. Review key steps and have a colleague look over important work before it goes out.
- Understand the "why." Ask the AI to explain its reasoning, and check that it makes sense to you.
- Verify what matters. Confirm facts, figures, and sources, especially for anything high stakes.
- Fly the routine routes. Use AI freely for repetitive, low-risk work. Walk the paths where learning and judgment count.
What This Means for Owner-Led Businesses
In healthcare, construction, and professional services businesses, many decisions carry real responsibility: client advice, compliance, safety, and costs. If a team member can't explain how an AI-generated answer was reached, that's a risk, and it's also a missed chance for that person to learn.
The best approach is to give AI the well-worn routes, such as scheduling, reporting, and follow-ups, through AI Automations, and keep people involved where judgment, review, and experience matter.
Want help deciding where AI should fly and where your team should walk? Book an AI Level-Up Session and we'll map it out together.
FAQ
What is an AI hallucination? A hallucination is when an AI tool gives an answer that sounds confident but is wrong or made up. It can be hard to notice if you didn't work through the steps yourself.
Why does the journey matter when using AI? The journey is where you learn, collect feedback, and build experience. If AI skips straight to the answer, you can miss the checks and understanding that make the result trustworthy.
Should businesses avoid using AI shortcuts? No. AI is very useful for routine, low-risk work. The key is keeping review steps and human judgment in place for anything where accuracy and accountability matter.
How can I reduce the risk of AI getting it wrong? Ask the AI to explain its reasoning, verify important facts and sources, have a colleague review key work, and keep people involved in decisions with real consequences.