The New Face of Imposter Syndrome: Challenges Posed by Generative AI
- Sheila Eckert
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
Updated: 18 hours ago
I’ve been in this field for a long time. I’ve grown my expertise through experience, collaboration, and some trial and error. But recently, something new has crept into my thinking—quiet, subtle, but persistent.
It’s not that I doubt my skills. It’s that GenAI is making my work so much better that I’m starting to ask uncomfortable questions:
If I’m this much better with AI, does that mean I wasn’t very good before?
Is this a helpful tool or has it become a crutch I need to be my best?
This is a new kind of imposter syndrome. One born not from fear of being “found out,” but from wondering whether your excellence was ever real—or if it’s now artificially inflated.
🚀 The Emotional Whiplash That Comes with the Productivity High
There’s no denying the upside of GenAI. I write faster. My ideas feel sharper. I can brainstorm, draft, edit, and polish with a kind of efficiency I’ve never had before.
But the better the results, the more I find myself questioning:
Was I underperforming all this time?
Is GenAI showing me my potential—or exposing my limitations?
It’s emotional whiplash—pride in better output, tangled with quiet insecurity about what that says about me.
🤖 Crutch, Mirror, or Catalyst?
We’ve always used tools to enhance our work: calculators, spellcheckers, Google, Grammarly, IDEs, coworkers, coaches, and whiteboards. None of these made us less capable. They made us more capable.
So why does GenAI feel different?
Because it collaborates, it suggests, rewrites, critiques, and structures. It joins you in the creative process, sometimes so seamlessly that it’s hard to tell where you end and it begins. That’s what makes it powerful. And unsettling.
But here’s what I’ve come to believe:
GenAI is not a crutch. It’s a catalyst.
GenAI does not erase your value; it unlocks it.
💡 Reframing the Narrative
Instead of asking, “Was I not good enough before?”, try asking:
What am I learning from working with AI?
How am I sharpening my judgment by editing, improving, and building on AI suggestions?
In what ways am I still the critical thinker, the problem solver, the decision-maker?
GenAI doesn’t replace expertise. It amplifies it. You still need to evaluate, contextualize, prioritize, and lead. You’re still the one accountable for the outcomes.
🤝 If You Feel This Too, You're Not Alone
This post isn’t just about me. I suspect there are a lot of us out there—seasoned professionals who are quietly wondering what it means when a machine can seemingly outproduce our years of experience.
If you’re feeling a shift in your identity, your confidence, your role, I see you. This is uncharted territory. It’s normal to feel unsure. What matters is that we keep talking about it.
✨ Closing Thought
The real imposter isn’t you. It’s the voice that says your worth depends on doing it all alone.
But the truth is, we’ve always been at our best when we collaborate—with people, with tools, with ideas that stretch us. GenAI is just the latest partner in that journey.
Let’s use it thoughtfully. Let’s talk about how it changes us. And let’s not forget the extraordinary value we bring to the work.
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