Microsoft's Jaime Teevan: stop using humans as the template for AI
jteevan · x · 2026-10-14
In "AI Isn't Human," Microsoft's Jaime Teevan argues that leaning on the human metaphor for AI both minimizes what's uniquely human and limits our imagination — we already know how to collaborate with people; the real opportunity is working with something fundamentally different.
Key points:
- AI removes constraints that shaped work for centuries: it reasons over more content than fits in our heads, explores countless possibilities, ignores social norms, and externalizes and reuses cognition.
- On scale of intelligence: humans hold 5-9 items in working memory, while AI can synthesize millions of reviews instantly — a shift toward collective intelligence.
- The immediate consequence is "ridiculous abundance": endless presentations, ideas, perspectives, art, and jokes.
- Conclusion: don't make AI act more like us; use what makes it different to expand what people can do.
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