It's undeniable that AI is here to stay. It's not a trend like web3 or crypto. And with it, a growing wave of fear-mongering. Some of it comes from mainstream media, but a fair chunk is driven by people who benefit directly from AI adoption.
The so-called AI gurus and influencers flooding TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn often rely on inflated hype to sell you a course or grow their audience. But what I really see missing at the moment is some good old-fashioned critical thinking.
If you’ve spent time with tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini (and I hope you have), you’ll have noticed the improvements over the last year. New features, better user experience, fewer hallucinations, and more recently, agent-based workflows. Things are moving fast.
But they’re still far from perfect.
They help with a lot of day-to-day tasks. Summarising feedback. Drafting documents. Making sense of large data sets. But there's one thing they can’t do yet — and it's core to the craft of product management: critical thinking.
Some people call this Product Sense. I prefer Critical Thinking. It’s less buzzy and more accessible. It's also something that sharpens over time as you navigate different product types, industries and challenges. Like a muscle, it strengthens with use. The more situations you experience — what worked, what didn’t — the better your judgement becomes.
That’s something machines still can’t match.
Yes, LLMs now have larger context windows and more sophisticated reasoning. But they still fall short when faced with ambiguity, incomplete context, and trade-offs. All of which are a big part of the job.
So what's the actual threat?
I don’t think AI is about to replace product managers. But I do think product managers who use AI well will outpace those who don’t.
If you can use these tools to reduce time spent on repetitive or low-leverage tasks, you’ll create more space for deep thinking and better decision-making. Drafting clearer documents, synthesising research, analysing data — these are all things AI can assist with today.
In a competitive job market, being AI-literate won’t just be nice to have. It’ll be expected.
Like with any major tech shift, some people will adapt, others will resist, and a few will fall behind. I’m not a fan of zero-sum narratives, but it’s clear that up-skilling matters. Learn how to use these tools to your advantage. Let them augment you, not replace you.
What should we do?
We've seen this before. When offices transitioned from paper forms to computers, the people who took the time to learn the new tools had an edge. This is no different.
AI is still just a tool. On its own, it’s often a solution looking for a problem. But when used intentionally, it can help you work smarter and faster.
Don’t buy into the fear. Instead, keep an eye on how this platform shift unfolds, experiment with what works for you, and double down on what adds value.
The hype train is loud right now. That’s fine.
Use your critical thinking. Learn. Adapt.
PS: Jason Knight gave a really good lightning talk about this a few weeks ago that I'd recommend on the subject. You can watch it here: