Generative AI raises profound and even existential questions, not just for us as workers and leaders, but for humans as a species.
I won’t reiterate them—we’ve all seen the headlines.
Unlike prior explosions of paradigm-changing technologies like television, telephone, the internet, or social media, user barriers to entry with generative AI are very low. There’s no new hardware required, like a VR headset or mobile phone, and the only skill you need is typing in a chat window.
The acceleration rate of generative AI’s impact is unlike any technology we’ve ever seen. This cuts both ways—suddenly, anyone with internet access can have a flexible, polite coworker with a variety of useful skill sets.
But it also means that companies are reconsidering the value of human labor in all kinds of knowledge-based jobs.
Because generative AI is advancing so quickly, it’s not enough for corporate workers to wait until our employers’ mindsets and budgets catch up—that leaves us ages behind.
Nor can entrepreneurs, small business owners, and freelancers just sit tight until someone packages up our exact AI needs into a user-friendly app.
We all have ways of keeping up with new technologies, whether by scanning headlines and LinkedIn, going to conferences and webinars, attending work trainings, hands-on experimentation—or just waiting until a tech-savvy teenager blows our minds with the next new thing.
But if knowledge acquisition alone were enough to keep up with change, all those business books we’ve read would already have us ruling Silicon Valley.
Instead, we need engaging ways to shift our mindsets, unlearn old ways of working, and engage creatively with polarities like:
In the AI age, we urgently need to set direction—even though our destinations aren’t clear yet.
That’s why we’re launching the AI Explorer’s Forum: a new group for executive leaders who want to understand and take action on AI now—not in the next budget cycle.
The AI Explorer’s Forum is a curated membership community of smart, progressive leaders who value the ability to learn from industry experts and network with peers. Sessions and online spaces are focused on candid discussion and skill-sharing, not just consumption of content.
