Secret cyborgs
plural noun
Ethan Mollick’s name for a company’s heaviest AI users, who keep quiet about how much the machine does in case somebody does the arithmetic.
Also known as hidden AI users
Secret cyborgs are employees who use AI heavily but keep the assistance quiet. Ethan Mollick’s term catches the most capable users hiding the very practice that makes them capable, often because admitting how much the machine contributed feels uncomfortably close to admitting the task might be replaceable. The secrecy leaves everyone else with the polished result and none of the method: no prompts, corrections, failed drafts or judgement calls, so organisations cannot learn from work they are not allowed to see being made. It also helps poor habits spread. The careful users hide their checking, the careless users hide that they did not check, and soon the whole office is working with the machine and pretending it is not.
See also Botsitting Botshitting Workslop