As AI threatens to eat the world, it’s interesting to see how people and businesses respond.
Some barely acknowledge it. Others fully embrace it. Most of us probably sit somewhere in the middle—curious and testing it out.
What AI means
What’s interesting to me is where my attention goes when I look into AI. These are in order of how much time I spend on each area:
1 — As a hiring manager: I don’t look for humans to replace. I hunt for roles that we wouldn’t otherwise hire right now. What skills and capacity can I give our team by “hiring” AI agents into specific roles? So far those roles are mostly admin type work, but this video opened me up to filling more high-skilled, professional roles: I run a $180M+ company...here's how I'm using AI on a daily basis
2 — As a business and product owner: AI will erase the need for some products and services. It’s important to have be honest and decide if there is a place for each of us in this post-AI world.
For some, this means scrapping what you’ve got and starting over. No small thing. For others, it’s a question of clearly defining how to continue adding value for customers. That could be as simple as staying human (I’ll write about that later this week).
3 — As a future employee: This is the most personal one. Can I add value and be needed? This video from Grace Leung made me sit up straight: The Great AI Layoff is Here. Prepare Now.
Grace balances the threat with the opportunity. There is a place for all of us if we’re willing to adapt. Like the question above about whether or not a product needs to exist, asking yourself if what you do is unique and valuable enough to get and keep a job is a big question.
So what?
There’s so much happening at such a crazy pace that it feels hard to just keep up, let alone figure out how to make it all work. But if I can offer a simple framework to help think through the impact of AI, it’s similar to the list above:
How can I use AI to build a better, stronger business? Imagine operating like a Fortune 500 company with only 5 people on payroll (with AI teammates doing a lot of work, too).
What it my business’s place in the AI world? Does our product need to exist and if so, how can we amplify it with (or alongside) AI?
What do I bring to the table? A lot of us may need to upskill, but it’s also important to remember that skills stack. What does your skill stack look like when you add AI (Skills + Experience + AI = ???)
Exciting times,
Peter
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