It is the so-called age of "Homo Prompt." This word, a combination of "Homo," meaning human, and "Prompt," the interface for entering commands, vividly shows a cross-section of our society where outputs produced through artificial intelligence (AI) have become the default. AI has gone beyond a mere "tool" to become an inseparable "partner" in daily life. According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), AI technology is capable of replacing about 12% of the entire U.S. labor market. Those overtaken by the so-called "partner" can lose their place in an instant.
Then what strategy should we pursue to survive? Angus Fletcher, a leading global story researcher at Ohio State University, offers a paradoxical piece of advice: become a "more human human."
Fletcher has an unusual background: after majoring in neuroscience at the University of Michigan, he earned a Ph.D. in literature from Yale University. He taught Shakespeare at Stanford University and is also the screenwriter of the film Middle Earth, now in production, which deals with the life of The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien. He is currently a faculty member at Project Narrative, an academic think tank at Ohio State University, and provides story consulting to the BBC, Amazon, and others.
In his book Primal Intelligence, recently translated and published in Korea, Fletcher asserts that humans can surpass AI—through our primal intelligence that operates within the physical structure of animal neurons, something that can never be implemented with electronic transistors. The following is a Q&A with Fletcher.
─What is primal intelligence, and why should we develop it? Is it to avoid being replaced by AI?
"Primal intelligence refers to a human-specific way of thinking that computer AI can never implement. We can cultivate primal intelligence through four elements: ▲intuition ▲imagination ▲emotion ▲common sense, and those who left a great trajectory in history share the trait of having exercised their mental gifts through primal intelligence.
The first point to note is that humans will never be completely replaced by AI. AI is not smart enough to replace humans and is particularly vulnerable to embracing new environments or variables. The premise of 'not knowing' does not apply to AI, and this fatal limitation distinguishes the potential for advancement between humans and AI. On humanity's stacked challenges—problems that need innovative solutions, such as the climate crisis or eradicating poverty—AI can never provide the correct answer. This is both good news and bad news: our fate ultimately lies in our own hands."
─In your book, you present concrete ways to cultivate primal intelligence—for example, asking 'who, when, where, what, how' instead of 'why,' or preparing a 'plan B' for every strategy.
"Cultivating primal intelligence is not difficult. So far, a range of people—salespeople, stock investors, chief executive officers (CEOs) of corporations—have come to me to build primal intelligence. One of them was an 8-year-old child who was unhappy that their parents wouldn't send them to astronaut school.
The child underwent what's called SWICK training, which overturns the premise that 'there is only one correct answer.' Named after the nickname of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS), SWICK training centers on ▲shifting your perspective to another person's point of view ▲seeking new answers to old problems ▲practicing finding second-best options to work toward a solution. Through this training, the child landed on a solution of first enrolling in a scuba diving school. The reason agents at the U.S. Army Special Operations School could build resilience without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was also this SWICK training. Primal intelligence training does not require grand tasks. You can do it, too."
─In practice, the training methods you suggest are simple and intuitive. But why is our primal intelligence declining? Why are we becoming increasingly anxious, dependent, and passive?
"There are many reasons our primal intelligence is weakening, but the biggest problem is the school education system. A structure that demands only one correct answer sharply narrows the range of thinking and weakens the ability to search for new answers on one's own. Today's schools evaluate students based on how quickly they find the 'right answer,' and this approach is already out of step with the times. To restore primal intelligence, we need an educational environment that enables practice in creating 'new answers,' not finding correct ones.
For example, the U.S. Army Special Operations School teaches by presenting problems with no correct answers. Students try solving a single challenge in multiple ways, test their imagination and intuition, and must create new solutions beyond existing frameworks to pass exams. Above all, the institution values actually running into problems over making advance judgments through critical thinking. This is precisely the learning approach we need to reclaim."
─In Korea, a recent scandal erupted when students at elite universities cheated on exams using AI.
"That incident actually shows how far the current exam system is from reality. The very fact that AI could get the right answers means the test fails to assess real human intelligence. Such exams end up measuring only the 'ability to think like a computer,' and if computers can now do that job, then doesn't that mean there's no need to have humans take those tests in the first place?
It is time to boldly discard the existing exam system. Going forward, our education—and by extension, society—should be redesigned around tasks AI cannot do, such as ▲making innovative plans ▲formulating multiple hypotheses to compare possibilities ▲responding to unforeseen problems."
─If there is an appropriate way to use AI to maximize primal intelligence, what is it? Also, what are the most effective tips for developing primal intelligence in daily life?
"In fact, AI is not very helpful for individuals in everyday use. AI chatbots like ChatGPT can be enjoyed like a game, but they won't make you smarter. Unless you are a specialist developing LLMs (large language models), I recommend minimizing your use of AI.
Instead, spend more time sitting down and talking with other people. Build the ability to quickly pick up cues such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and subtle nuances. Reading books is also good training. Innovative experimenters like Einstein, Beethoven, Charles Darwin, and Winston Churchill all drew inspiration from Shakespeare's works. If I were to pick just one of his works, I would recommend Hamlet. The work can be summarized in one sentence: "As a stranger, give it welcome."