When Our Knowledge Exceeds Our Wisdom

AI makes that line uncomfortably real

In just a few years we've gone from awkward chatbots to systems that can draft contracts, write code, create images, pass professional exams, and mimic a human voice well enough to fool a bank or a parent.

The capability curve is almost vertical. The wisdom curve – how we use, govern, and emotionally adapt to those capabilities – is much flatter.

That gap is where the real risk lives.

The new bubble isn't just financial

We've seen waves like this before: railways, radio, dot-com, crypto. Each came with a mix of genuine transformation and wild speculation.

AI is different in two ways:

1. Speed – tools are evolving faster than our policies, cultures, and skills.
2. Location – the "product" is now cognitive. It reaches into how we think, decide, hire, teach, assess, and relate.

Under the surface, what's happening looks very bubble-like:

• The biggest capital boom in history Hundreds of billions are being poured into AI every year – chips, data centres, energy, infrastructure. A huge chunk of recent US growth is being driven by this single story. We're investing ahead of clear, proven use cases. The assumption is simple: the profits will arrive later. That's more or less the textbook definition of a bubble.
• Dangerous concentration at the very top A tiny group of tech giants now dominates the main stock indices, and they're the ones doing most of this AI spending. The rest of the market is growing slowly; these firms are carrying the narrative, the valuations, and the hopes. That means a lot of pension funds, index trackers and "boring" portfolios are, in reality, highly exposed to AI optimism, whether people realise it or not.

Three things worry me in particular:

Many organisations are rushing to "have an AI strategy" before they've clarified the problems they're trying to solve. Slide decks appear, pilots launch, and then quietly die. The result: fatigue and cynicism instead of learning.

Leadership loves the "innovation" story, but the unglamorous parts – governance, documentation, training, ethics – are often neglected. When something goes wrong, ownership is suddenly very hard to find.

The biggest gains are already flowing to people who are younger, more tech-comfortable, and quicker to experiment. For a 20-year-old, AI is a force multiplier. For many in their 40s, 50s and 60s, it can feel like yet another wave of disruption before they've recovered from the last one.

Power and proficiency are out of sync: those with formal authority over risk and regulation often have the least hands-on AI experience, while those using the tools most intensely rarely sit at the decision-making table.

So what does wisdom look like, right now?

We don't need to be anti-AI. We do need to be pro-wisdom.

A few shifts would help:

• Slow down the story, not the progress Not every AI use case is "transformational". The first question shouldn't be "What can AI do?" but "Where are we genuinely stuck – and could AI help here without making things worse?"
• Invest in humans as much as in models Training, psychological safety and honest conversations about job design matter as much as the tools themselves. A team with basic AI and high trust will beat a team with advanced AI and low trust.
• Make intergenerational learning a feature, not a threat Younger colleagues often understand the tools. Older colleagues understand the systems, history and unintended consequences. Wisdom emerges when those perspectives are in the same room with mutual respect – not in silent competition.
• Reward thoughtful use, not just visible use It's tempting to celebrate the loudest "AI project". Instead, we should reward people who use AI carefully: documenting prompts, checking outputs, considering bias, and being honest about limits.

Closing the gap

AI isn't inherently wise or foolish. It amplifies what is already there.

If we approach it with panic, ego and short-termism, it will magnify those. If we approach it with curiosity, humility and a sense of responsibility to those who come after us, it can be more than just another bubble.

Our knowledge exceeds our wisdom. AI will show us which we value more.