Paul McCartney’s achievements are incredible. He demonstrated that the bass, which is just one of many instruments in a band, could play an independent and captivating melodic line. And Paul’s achievements aren’t just in the realm of music. They also suggest what humans should do in the age of AI.
John Lennon brought the idea for “Come Together.” As John strummed the guitar and sang, Paul said, “John, wait a minute. That’s Chuck Berry’s ‘You Can’t Catch Me.’ I love that song too, but this won’t do.”
So Paul suggested, “Let’s slow it down and make it more damp and sticky.”
This gave birth to that memorable intro:
Shush—bass—drums
Shush—bass—drums
Shush—bass—drums
The bass rises like bubbles, the guitar follows, and the keyboard cuts vertically.
George Harrison brought “Something.”
As George played and sang, Paul added the bass.
While the original song was great, it was Paul’s colorful bass line that made it a masterpiece.
In the 1990s, Peter Drucker said, “From now on, it will be knowledge workers.”
However, in the age of AI, we don’t need people who are knowledgeable or can derive the correct answers.
For example, I use AI to translate my blog into English, but I always proofread it to ensure it retains the JOYWOW feel.
Once, it translated “人として” as “as a person,” which was weak and too literal,
so I corrected it to “as a human being.”
In this way, as AI becomes a colleague working alongside us, what humans need is sensitivity.
The sensitivity Paul showed when he suggested to John, “Let’s slow it down and make it more damp and sticky.”
This is what I meant when I wrote that Paul’s achievements suggest what humans should do in the AI era.
If knowledge workers are no longer needed, what kind of workers are?
I think of “curiosity workers.“
Paul McCartney showed his curiosity and made great achievements
by not just playing the bass plainly but by dominating and creating the overall impression of the song.
Yuval Noah Harari’s “Sapiens” starts with the “Cognitive Revolution.”
Essentially, it’s a “Revolution of Perception.”
Curiosity changes perception.
But if asked, “How can we make our employees curiosity workers?”
I would be at a loss.
Curiosity can’t be commanded by a boss or a company.
However, as a hypothesis, creating the right environment is essential.
While curiosity is born within individuals, having people with high levels of curiosity around,
and an atmosphere that says,
“It’s fine, go ahead and try,” are significant factors.
Curiosity—I will continue to study it.
#thebeatles
#discoverjapan
