To FAI or Not to FAI: The Manager's Guide to AI's Workplace Comedy

Picture this: you’re a manager standing poolside at the Olympics of Workplace Performance. In one lane, you have your human knowledge workers—some swimming like Michael Phelps, others doing what can generously be called “enthusiastic drowning.” In the next lane, there’s AI—sometimes breaking world records, sometimes swimming backward, and occasionally just sitting at the bottom of the pool wondering why water exists.

Welcome to the modern manager’s dilemma: to FAI or not to FAI.

The Birth of “FAI”

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Let me introduce you to my favorite new acronym: FAI (pronounced “fie,” as in “fie upon this decision!”). It stands for “Fire by AI” or “Fire and replace with AI”—that moment when a manager looks at their org chart and wonders if they can swap out Steve from Accounting for ChatGPT-4.

The FAI dilemma is real, folks. Last week, a Fortune 500 CEO confided in me (okay, it was my neighbor Bob who manages a small retail team, but the principle stands) that he’s caught between the promise of AI efficiency and the reality that AI sometimes responds to “Calculate quarterly expenses” with a haiku about dolphins.

The Workplace Pool: A Study in Variability

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Think of your workforce as a swimming pool—not the pristine, chlorinated kind, but more like a natural swimming hole where anything could happen.

In the Human Section of this pool:

• The Champions: These are your star performers who consistently deliver. They’re reliable, creative, and somehow always know exactly what you meant even when you said something completely different.
• The Steady Swimmers: Solid contributors who get the job done. They might not break records, but they won’t accidentally submit expense reports in ancient Sumerian either.
• The Wildcards: These humans have good days and bad days. On Monday, they’re brilliant; on Friday, they’re asking if the printer needs to be fed.

In the AI Section:

• The Speed Demons: When properly prompted, AI can process information faster than your best analyst mainlining espresso.
• The Confused Philosophers: Sometimes AI gets existential. Ask it to draft a memo, and it might return a 3,000-word treatise on the nature of corporate communication.
• The Literal Genies: AI does exactly what you ask—which is terrifying if you’re not precise. Ask it to “eliminate redundancy in the team” and it might suggest everyone work alone in separate buildings.

The FAI Factor: When Reliability Meets Unpredictability

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Here’s where it gets interesting. Managers are discovering that the decision to FAI isn’t just about replacing humans with AI—it’s about understanding the beautiful, chaotic symphony of both working together.

Consider Sarah, a marketing manager who tried to replace her copywriter with AI. The AI produced content faster than a caffeinated intern and with fewer typos. Victory! Until the AI started every product description with “In a world where…” and insisted on describing kitchen appliances as if they were heroes in an action movie. (“This blender will ANNIHILATE your smoothie enemies!”)

Meanwhile, her human copywriter might take three times longer and occasionally misspell “definitely,” but never once described a toaster as having “the courage to face your bread’s darkest hour.”

The Smart Manager’s Approach: Pool Management 101

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The wise manager doesn’t drain the pool and start over—they become an expert pool manager, understanding the strengths and quirks of each swimmer:

Embrace the Chaos: Accept that both humans and AI will surprise you. Document the surprises. Some of AI’s “mistakes” might be creative breakthroughs in disguise. And some of your humans’ quirks might be exactly what makes your team special.

Strategic Pairing: Use AI for what it does best (rapid data processing, pattern recognition, first drafts) and humans for what they excel at (nuanced judgment, creative problem-solving, knowing when something “feels wrong”).

Build Redundancy: Don’t put all your eggs in either basket. Have humans check AI work and AI assist human work. It’s like having buddy systems in the workplace pool.

Communicate Expectations: Be clear about what “good” looks like for both. AI needs precise prompts; humans need clear guidelines but room for interpretation.

The Plot Twist: Why FAI Isn’t the Real Question

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Here’s the secret: the question isn’t whether to FAI or not to FAI. It’s whether you can become the kind of manager who orchestrates a symphony of both artificial and human intelligence.

The best managers I know treat their workplace like a jazz ensemble rather than a classical orchestra. Sometimes the AI riffs brilliantly on the data, sometimes the human takes an unexpected solo that changes everything, and sometimes they harmonize in ways that surprise everyone.

FAI-nal Thoughts

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So, to FAI or not to FAI? That’s not the question anymore. The question is: how do you create an environment where both your AI and human team members can perform at their best, learn from their mistakes, and occasionally surprise you with moments of brilliance?

Because at the end of the day, managing in the age of AI isn’t about choosing between humans and machines—it’s about conducting the most interesting, unpredictable, and occasionally magnificent workplace orchestra ever assembled.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go explain to my AI assistant why it can’t expense lunch to “existential contemplation” and convince my human colleague that “I’ll get to it eventually” isn’t a project timeline.

Welcome to the future of management: it’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it’s anything but boring.