Most People Are Missing the Best Part of AI.

Issue #98 - June 11, 2026

Author

Atiba de Souza
June 11, 2026

Everyone talks about AI saving time.

And don't get me wrong...

that's great.

Saving time is useful.

But I think we're focusing on the wrong benefit.

Because the more I use AI, the more I realize:

The biggest value isn't productivity.

It's freedom.

That might sound strange at first.

After all, every AI headline seems to be about efficiency.

Save hours.

Automate tasks.

Work faster.

Do more.

But lately I've been noticing something different.

Something much more interesting.

I was working on a project recently.

A real project.

Not a hypothetical one.

Not a demo.

Not a social media example.

A live application with real users.

And we had a problem.

A pretty common one, actually.

The application had grown quickly.

Faster than we expected.

And now we needed to create separate development and staging environments.

Not exactly the most exciting problem in the world.

But an important one.

A few years ago, solving this would've looked very different.

I would've sat down.

Mapped everything out.

Reviewed architecture.

Looked at hosting.

Studied dependencies.

Thought through every possible scenario.

Built a plan.

Reviewed the plan.

Modified the plan.

Then finally started executing.

And if I'm honest...

I probably would've spent hours thinking about it.

Maybe even days.

This time was different.

I handed the problem to my AI thinking partner.

Not a chatbot.

A thinking partner.

There's a difference.

And what happened next was fascinating.

Before it even created the solution...

it created a process for creating the solution.

Think about that for a second.

It didn't immediately jump to an answer.

It started by asking:

What do I need to understand first?

What information am I missing?

What approaches exist?

What tradeoffs should be considered?

How should I present those options?

What should be approved before moving forward?

In other words...

It started thinking.

That was the moment that really got my attention.

Because most people think AI is valuable because it gives answers.

But what if the real value is helping us think better?

The system didn't just say:

"Here's the plan."

It said:

"Here's how we're going to figure out the best plan."

And honestly...

that's how great consultants work.

That's how great leaders work.

That's how great teams work.

They don't rush to solutions.

They work through the problem.

And while it was doing all of that...

I wasn't.

I could go for a walk.

Exercise.

Think about something else.

Work on a different challenge.

Create something new.

That's when I realized something important.

AI isn't just removing tasks.

It's removing mental load.

And if you've ever been responsible for a business...

a practice...

a team...

or a family...

you know mental load is often heavier than the actual work itself.

It's the constant thinking.

The constant context switching.

The endless list running in the back of your mind.

The unfinished decisions.

The open loops.

The things you know you need to address eventually.

That's exhausting.

And most people don't even realize how much energy it consumes.

Which is why I think so many conversations about AI are missing the point.

They're focused on replacing work.

I'm interested in removing cognitive burden.

Because imagine what becomes possible when you stop carrying every problem in your head.

Imagine what becomes possible when some of that thinking can happen alongside you.

Not instead of you.

Alongside you.

That's a very different future than most people are imagining.

We're constantly hearing:

"AI is going to take jobs."

Maybe.

Some jobs will absolutely change.

Some already are.

But what I find far more interesting is this:

What happens when AI gives people back their attention?

Their creativity?

Their bandwidth?

Their ability to focus on bigger things?

That's the conversation I think we should be having.

Because the biggest bottleneck for most leaders isn't effort.

It isn't intelligence.

It isn't capability.

It's capacity.

There are only so many things you can think about at once.

Only so many decisions you can make.

Only so many problems you can carry.

And if AI can help reduce that burden...

what could you create with the extra space?

That's the question I've been sitting with lately.

And honestly...

I think it's a much bigger opportunity than most people realize.

👇 This is only Part 2

There’s a lot more context, examples, and lessons that didn’t make it into this email. And seeing it happen is very different from reading about it.

We've already started building something special for physicians 👨‍⚕️

Over the last few months, we've built a community where doctors exchange ideas, questions, experiences, and lessons around AI and marketing.

Not surface-level conversations.

Real ones.

The kind where people ask:

  • "How are you actually using AI in your practice?"

  • "What's working right now?"

  • "What are other physicians experimenting with?"

  • "How do I avoid wasting time on the wrong things?"

And honestly...

that's become the most valuable part.

Doctors learning from doctors.

Sharing what's working.

Sharing mistakes.

Helping each other navigate a rapidly changing world.

It's called AiM (AI & Marketing) Rounds.

If you'd like to join the conversation—

Just reply "JOIN AIM" and I'll send you the WhatsApp link. 😉

A few things worth checking out 👀

Just sharing a few things I've been exploring lately:

One question before you go...

🤔 What would you do if you had 5 extra hours of mental bandwidth every week?

Not time.

Mental bandwidth.

There's a difference.

Hit reply and let me know.

I read every response.

And honestly, I think the answers tell us more about what people truly want than almost anything else.

And if this made you think...

Share it with someone who's feeling overwhelmed.

Because maybe the future isn't about doing more.

Maybe it's about carrying less.

— Atiba

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