Why AI Makes Your Judgment Even More Valuable

AI Might be smart, but it still needs your judgement, here's how to bring it.

Imagine this: You’re brainstorming ideas for a new project in a team meeting. You’re using an AI tool to generate creative suggestions. It spits out a list of “best ideas” ranked by engagement metrics. But you notice something off. All the AI’s top picks are the same generic, safe ideas—nothing bold, nothing that would stand out.

So you run a little experiment. You throw in your wildest, most out-of-the-box idea, one that challenges your usual approach. AI doesn’t even consider it. It’s stuck in its own patterns, unable to see the spark of innovation that humans can bring.

This scenario gets at a deeper point: as AI becomes more embedded in our work, human judgment doesn’t fade—it becomes even more important. Sure, AI is powerful. It can process mountains of data and make predictions faster than any of us. But there’s a catch. 

In their book Prediction Machines, Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb argue that AI is great at predicting but can’t generally make decisions. Decisions need context, empathy, and values—things only people can bring. To paraphrase the authors, when prediction is cheap, judgment becomes precious.

This is exactly the heart of what I explore in my book, The Uncertainty Advantage. In an unpredictable, AI-powered world, your ability to navigate ambiguity and make decisions with courage and conviction is what will set you apart. Judgment is your competitive edge. When the future feels fuzzy or overwhelming, your judgment, shaped by your values, intuition, and lived experiences, can guide you. 

So, how do you sharpen your judgment skills in an AI world? Here’s what I’ve found helpful:

1. Ask the questions AI can’t. Instead of blindly accepting AI’s suggestions, dig deeper. What’s missing? What assumptions are baked in? Is this idea aligned with your mission and your audience?

2. Balance data with gut feel. AI is great for insights, but sometimes the best ideas come from intuition—your hunch that something bold will resonate. Test those instincts and see what happens.

3. Stay close to real people. AI can analyze trends, but it doesn’t understand your audience’s lived experiences. Talk to customers, get feedback from colleagues, and pay attention to what’s not in the data.

4. Embrace ambiguity. AI loves clear patterns, but human work often involves trade-offs and messy contexts. Be the one who sees nuance, who can navigate grey areas and find the opportunity others might miss.

   
   

AI can tell you what’s trending or predict what customers might do next. But it can’t decide what’s worth acting on or how to adapt when things don’t go as planned. That’s your call.

Personally, I see this all the time when I’m working with AI tools. They’re great for generating a flood of ideas or highlighting patterns I might have missed. But they don’t know the bigger picture—the values, people, and long-term impact I weigh. That’s where human judgment turns data into action.

So if you’re worried that AI might replace you, remember that your ability to bring judgment and meaning to the table makes you valuable. In a world overflowing with data, your judgment and sense of what’s right and what matters will always be your superpower.

So keep leaning in. Build your judgment muscle. Stay curious. Keep asking the questions that AI can’t. Because while AI might be smart, it’ll always need you to turn predictions into progress and wisdom.

If you enjoyed this, you might like my newsletter, Scott’s Monthly Musings. It’s a curated selection of thought-provoking ideas, tools, and resources I’ve been exploring lately, especially around AI and the future of work. You can subscribe here.