AI Tools Fall into Two Buckets: Automation & Collaboration

AI tools can be generally divided into two main buckets: In one bucket, you’ll find automation tools that function as closed systems that do their work without oversight—ATMs and dishwashers. In the second bucket you’ll find collaboration tools, such as chain saws, word processors. Automation and collaboration are not opposites, and are frequently packaged together. Word processors automatically perform text layout and grammar checking even as they provide a blank canvas for writers to express ideas. The transmissions in our cars are fully automatic, while their safety systems collaborate with their human operators to monitor blind spots. In any given application, AI is going to automate or it’s going to collaborate, depending on how we design it and how someone chooses to use it. -David Autor and James Manyika writing in The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/08/ai-job-loss-human-enhancement-google/683963