I've spent more than 27 years in technology, and I understand why AI makes a lot of IT people uneasy. We spent years learning skills that a machine can now appear to demonstrate in seconds. When you've been the person called in to figure out why something broke, it's natural to wonder what happens when the first call goes to AI.
Before I got into technology, I worked as a carpenter. A better saw could save me time on every cut. I still had to learn how to measure, how the wood would behave, and how to spot a mistake before it carried through the rest of the job. Most of what made me better came from doing the work and spending time around people who knew more than I did.
That's how I like to think about AI. Imagine sitting in a room with a developer, a database administrator, a support lead, and someone who works directly with customers. A customer says a page takes too long to load.
The developer wants to see what changed in the last release. The database administrator wants to know which queries are running. Support asks how often it happens. The person who talks to the customer asks what they're trying to finish when they get stuck. You walk out of that room with a better understanding of the problem because each person knew to ask a question the others might have missed.
In an ideal world, we'd have that room available every time we needed it. AI gives us a small piece of that. We can draw on information from around the world, ask for an explanation in terms we understand, and follow up until we know what to look at next. I'd use it to prepare for that conversation about the slow page. I'd still want the people who know the system and the customer in the room when we decide what to fix.
I take the job concern seriously. Companies will make decisions about staffing and how they use these tools. When I sit down with AI, the opportunity I see is in the work I already do. It can help me get up to speed on an unfamiliar subject or spend less of an afternoon sorting through information. I can put some of that time back into coaching a developer or digging into a problem we've been patching for months.
I got better at carpentry and at IT by asking questions and putting what I learned to work. I plan to use AI the same way. If I can get to the next good question a little sooner, that's time well spent.
What part of your work would you like to spend more time on if AI could give you an hour back?
Thanks,
Michael Cronin
Website: https://www.michaelcronin.info
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltcronin/details/experience/
