Everyday AI Podcast – An AI and ChatGPT Podcast

EP 487: How AI is making us more productive and dumber at the same time

32 snips

Mar 21, 2025

Sumit Gupta, Lead BI Engineer at Notion, shares his insights on the double-edged sword of AI. With expertise in building data strategies, he discusses how AI tools can massively boost our productivity while simultaneously eroding our critical thinking. Gupta highlights the paradox of being more efficient yet potentially 'dumber' due to over-reliance on these technologies. He emphasizes the importance of balancing AI use with skill retention and urges listeners to maintain a thoughtful approach to integrating AI into their work.

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ANECDOTE

AI-Powered Efficiency

Sumit Gupta uses AI to write SQL queries and create dashboards at Notion, saving him significant time.
Building a Tableau report previously took 3-4 weeks, now takes just a few days with AI assistance.

INSIGHT

The Productivity-Intelligence Dichotomy

While AI boosts productivity, it can also decrease critical thinking by handling complex tasks.
Over-reliance on AI tools can lead to mental laziness and reduced problem-solving skills.

ADVICE

Strategic AI Application

Use AI for repetitive tasks and areas where you are already an expert to maximize its benefits.
Avoid using AI for tasks that require critical thinking or are core to your expertise.

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You're outsourcing your brain to AI 🧠.

Bad idea?

AI can write your SQL queries. Build your dashboards. Even brainstorm your next big idea.

It’s saving you hours. Maybe days.

But here’s the catch—it's also stealing your critical thinking. Making you reliant.

Maybe even... dumber.

Sumit Gupta knows this first-hand. He’s built data strategies at Notion, Snowflake, and Dropbox.

And, he’s here to break down how AI is both supercharging productivity and quietly eroding our problem-solving skills.

Are we trading our brains for convenience?

Let’s find out.

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Topics Covered in This Episode:

Personal use of Generative AI and productivity vs. intelligence dichotomy
Jordan Wilson's participation in the NVIDIA conference
Introduction of Sameet Gupta as a guest
Role and experience of Sameet Gupta at Notion
The impact of AI on productivity and critical thinking
Examples of AI tools used by Sameet Gupta
Challenges of balancing AI use with retaining critical skills
Potential risks and costs of over-reliance on AI
White coding and its implications
Recommendations and personal strategies to maintain skills alongside AI use
The influence of AI on different age groups, particularly students
Discussion on cost implications of using AI improperly
Notion's capabilities in enhancing productivity and retention
The future impact of AI on knowledge workers and the workforce
Practical advice for business leaders on AI integration and maintaining productivity

Timestamps:
00:00 "Using AI to Stay Sharp"

04:11 Anthropic's Claude Gains Real-Time Web Access

08:02 Streamlining Dashboards with AI

10:48 "GPT for Quick Code Debugging"

15:34 Guardrails Needed for Costly AI Mistakes

17:27 AI for Repetitive Tasks

20:35 Growing Business with AI Expertise

23:20 AI's Impact on Younger Generation

28:04 AI’s Impact on Future Workforce

30:12 "Notion: Beyond Note-Taking"

33:22 "Validate or Lose Job Security"

36:25 Balancin

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