Episode 616 The Future of Work – Augmenting Humans with Practical AI With Derek Crager
Show Highlights
Episode 616 All About AI hosted by Rob Cairns of The SDM Show. Cairns is joined by guest Derek Crager, the founder of Practical AI, to discuss the current state and future of artificial intelligence. The conversation centers on the rapid advancements in AI, such as the release of Gemini 3, and the hosts’ belief that AI is an augmentative tool rather than a replacement for human labor, citing historical technological revolutions like the printing press and the agricultural revolution. Crager explains that Practical AI, his enterprise-level product, is designed to provide practical, instantaneous, and secure knowledge to industrial manufacturing workers, functioning as a “Pocket Mentor” to reduce cognitive load and increase productivity. The discussion also touches upon the high failure rate of corporate AI adoption and the importance of educating the public about AI to diminish fear and skepticism.
Show Notes
Episode Summary
In this episode, Rob Cairns sits down with Derek Crager to discuss the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence. From the “leapfrog” game between Gemini 3 and ChatGPT-5 to the historical parallels of the industrial revolution, Derek explains why AI should be viewed as a tool for augmentation rather than replacement. They dive deep into Derek’s product, Practical AI, an enterprise-level “Pocket Mentor” designed to provide hands-free, real-time knowledge to industrial and manufacturing workers.
Key Discussion Points
- The AI Arms Race: Rob and Derek discuss the release of Gemini 3, noting its dramatic performance improvements over competitors. They touch on the global nature of AI development, from US-based foundations to innovators found on platforms like Hugging Face.
- Historical Context of Innovation: Derek draws parallels between the AI revolution and past shifts like the 1980s e-commerce debut and the agricultural revolution.
- Replacement vs. Augmentation: A core theme of the episode. Derek argues that while short-term job displacement occurs, the long-term goal is “thinking with the human, not for the human.”
- Practical AI – The “Pocket Mentor”: * The Problem: Traditional “digitized” manuals (PDFs) take workers out of the flow of work.
- The Solution: A voice-activated, “eyes-free, hands-free” AI assistant that acts as a 24/7 expert mentor via a headset.
- Target Market: Industrial manufacturing, skilled trades, and enterprise environments.
- The “Forgetting Curve”: Derek cites the Ebbinghaus theory, noting that humans forget 90% of what they learn within a month. Practical AI serves as “temporal knowledge,” providing answers only when they are needed to reduce cognitive load.
- The Forgetting Curve Statistics:
- 20 minutes: 42% of learned information is lost.
- 24 hours: 67% is lost.
- 31 days: 79% to 90% is lost.
- The Forgetting Curve Statistics:
- ROI and Enterprise Success: While MIT reports that 95% of AI adoptions fail at the corporate level, Derek explains how Practical AI delivers a 100-to-1 ROI by leveraging existing hardware and focusing on specific “guarded” knowledge domains to prevent hallucinations.
Notable Quotes
“AI by itself will not come up with those Leonardo da Vinci thoughts… When we augment humans with AI, we take away the mundane tasks and allow them to use their brains to think about how to do things better, safer, and more efficiently.” — Derek Crager
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