Your IQ Won't Matter When AI Hits 1000 (Here's What Will)
by Tyler Kelley
Think your fancy MBA makes you irreplaceable? Think again.
By next year, AI systems will have IQs over 1000. That’s not a typo.
While Elon Musk sits at 155 and Einstein peaked at 162, AI is about to make the smartest humans look like they’re still learning their ABCs.
But here’s the plot twist: it doesn’t matter.
In fact, when machines become superintelligent, raw brainpower will be about as valuable as knowing how to operate a horse and buggy in the age of Tesla.
The real money? It’s in being human.
Let’s get real about what this means for your business:
Strategy & Planning? AI’s got that covered. Your value will be in seeing opportunities no algorithm could predict.
Data Analysis? Please. AI will crunch numbers before your first coffee. Your edge will be understanding the human stories behind those numbers.
Market Research? AI will know your customer’s buying habits better than their spouse. Your superpower will be knowing why they really buy.
Remember the Industrial Revolution? When machines first stole all the manual labor jobs? Humans didn’t vanish - we evolved. We moved from muscle to mind. Now it’s happening again, but this time we’re moving from mind to meaning.
This isn’t just another tech disruption. It’s your invitation to double down on what machines can’t touch: your creativity, intuition, and ability to connect with other humans on a level no 1000 IQ machine ever will.
Think about it. AI can process billions of data points, but it can’t feel the excitement of a new idea. It can analyze market trends, but it can’t dream up the next iPhone. It can optimize existing systems, but it can’t envision entirely new ways of living and working.
Want to stay relevant? Stop trying to outsmart AI. Start strengthening what I call your HQ - Human Quotient. While AI optimizes the known, your job is to imagine the unknown. While machines compute, you create. While AI follows logic, you follow hunches.
The winners in this new game won’t be the ones with the highest IQs or the most advanced AI systems. They’ll be the ones who can partner with superintelligent AI while remaining unabashedly, unapologetically human.
Here’s your wake-up call: This shift isn’t coming - it’s here.
Every time you try to compete with AI on pure intelligence, you’re bringing a knife to a nuclear war. Instead, focus on the skills no machine can match: building genuine relationships, navigating uncertainty with gut instinct, and dreaming up ideas so crazy they just might work.
The future isn’t something that’s happening to us – it’s something we get to create. Our power won’t lie in processing speed or memory capacity, but in our distinctly human ability to navigate change, forge meaningful connections, and envision what’s never been done before.
The future of business belongs to those who can harness AI’s brainpower while leveraging their own humanity. It’s not about man versus machine anymore. It’s about man plus machine, with each playing to their strengths.
So stop worrying about AI taking your job. Start focusing on becoming so human that no machine could ever replace you. Start strengthening those muscles that make you uniquely human - your creativity, your emotional intelligence, your ability to see patterns where others see chaos.
The robots are coming, and they’re bringing thousand-point IQs with them.
The question isn’t whether you’ll adapt - it’s how quickly you’ll realize that your humanity is your greatest asset. Are you ready to embrace your superpower?
Tyler Kelley is the Co-founder and Chief Strategist of SLAM! Agency, where he helps mission-driven organizations and innovative businesses amplify their impact to drive meaningful change. In this column, Tyler provides actionable insights to help businesses and leaders navigate our increasingly AI-driven world.