The John Henry Effect

How can humans compete with AI and emerging technologies? I believe that people are more forgiving of human error than machine error. If we switched entirely to driverless cars, thereby no chance of human error, and the automobile fatalities dropped, only perfection would satisfy the general public. A thousand human errors would be preferable than a single machine error. 

And that seems kind of weird. But that thinking will be fairly short-lived. The advent of calculators was initially challenged. My middle school math teacher forbade the use of  calculators because “machines aren’t as smart as humans.” 

And that brings me to the legend of John Henry. He was an American folk hero, working on railroads and of whom is said to have been the strongest “steel driving man.”  His prowess was such that it was thought that he could hammer a steel drill into a rock better and faster than a steam powered drill. John Henry, a human, could beat the latest technology. 

In folklore, legend, and song John Henry “raced” the steam drill. After many excruciating hours, John Henry beat the machine. However, due to the exertion, his heart exploded and he died.

That legend gave us the “John Henry Effect.” It means that when it comes to humans versus machines, humans will work that much harder, exert that much more effort, and do everything in their power to “beat” the machine. I guess this means that as we move ahead (willingly or unwillingly) with AI and other technologies we have a lot to think about including how we decide to embrace it or fight against it.