Why Fear of AI is the Wrong Battle to Fight

Not long ago, I came across a social media post with a graphic that read:

“Your future doctors are using ChatGPT to pass their exams. You better start eating healthy.”

It was meant to be a joke, but let’s be honest, the underlying sentiment wasn’t funny. It was condescending, reactionary, and frankly, rooted in fear.

Here’s the truth: AI isn’t the enemy. It’s a tool. Just like every other breakthrough we’ve ever seen in human history.

New Tools Have Always Scared People

Imagine someone 35,000 years ago watching another person roll something heavy across the ground and scoffing, “Using this new invention, the wheel, is totally cheating.” Sounds ridiculous, right?

And yet, that’s exactly how a lot of people are treating artificial intelligence right now.

We’ve always had tools to help us do things better, faster, and more efficiently. The printing press was once seen as a threat to tradition. The calculator was frowned upon in classrooms. Even the internet was met with skepticism in its early days.

Every time something transformative comes along, there are people who resist it. Not because the tool is inherently dangerous, but because it challenges their assumptions about how things should be done.

My Surgeon Used a Robot. Thank God.

I had gastric bypass surgery. It’s a complex, deeply personal procedure with significant risks and life-altering results. And my surgeon didn’t perform it alone. He had help.

From a robot.

Thanks to robotic assistance, he was able to complete the surgery through three small incisions… each only about an inch long. No large cut. No massive scar. I was up and walking within six hours after the operation. Six hours.

Had this been done the old-fashioned way, my recovery would have looked completely different. More pain. More time. More risk.

So let me ask you this… would anyone suggest my surgeon was “cheating” because he used the best tools available to him?

Of course not.

AI is Already Saving Lives… and That’s Just the Beginning

Whether it’s ChatGPT helping doctors reason through complex diagnoses, machine learning accelerating drug development, or robotics making surgeries safer and more precise, the future of medicine needs these tools. And so do we.

AI isn’t replacing expertise… it’s enhancing it.

And this doesn’t just apply to healthcare. Marketing, education, finance, logistics, manufacturing… AI is changing how we work across every industry.

The people who will thrive in this next era aren’t the ones trying to ignore or discredit AI. They’re the ones who are learning how to use it better.

Adapt or Fade Away

Here’s what it comes down to…

You can either adapt to this new reality, or you can fade into irrelevance.

No, that doesn’t mean blindly trusting every new technology. Healthy skepticism is smart. But outright fear of the tools themselves? That’s a losing battle.

The winners in this next chapter will be the people who ask smart questions, stay curious, and learn how to wield these new tools effectively.

So no, I’m not afraid of the next generation of doctors using ChatGPT to study. I want them to have access to every tool that makes them better at their jobs.

And the same goes for all of us.

Embrace the tools. Use them wisely. And keep moving forward.