Fully agree, as I also think that this is an essential truth: the future of work is not about replacing humans but about complementing human strengths.
Your picture of the three-dimensional work resonates a lot. Finding the right balance between established structures, decentralized collaboration, and the responsible use of AI will be key to making real progress.
David - thank you. I think this is a great framework to look organizational change. As I read this, I couldn't help but think about new civilizations are routinely built on top of the prior (new job: organizational archaeologist?) The job effectively stays the same, or the desired outcomes remain, the tools used are what changes.
My first corporate job nearly 40 years ago as a "Draftsman" was in the old-school open-air office, with drafting tables lining the walls and we all shared a two-line, party-line phone system. Voice mail? That was the guy at the desk behind me. This was the early days of Computer Aided Design becoming popular (e.g. affordable) outside aerospace and automotive. I really owe a big part of my early career to being part of that digital transformation. It was more evolution than revolution, but I can certainly remember a time well before even e-mail - inter-departmental envelopes with typed memos and requests for meetings.
I make sure to embrace these changes as I had many colleagues early on who thought it was all a fad. It isn't. Even if the current generation of AI/ LLMs etc. do not stay in their current form (they won't) the impact of the change will remain.
This brought me back to my trainee times when sending out 500 telefaxes with press releases. Took half a day to send them and the outcry was big when email replaced it. But look at it today, we can do spend our time better with more valuable actions than typing 500 Telefax numbers into a bulky machine.
“How much we build trust in this semi-autonomous work loop will depend on the quality and reliability of our combined human- and machine-generated output.” This line resonated for me because trust is always a necessary ingredient to fully embrace new norms in the workplace. When trust is missing, we take steps backward (take RTO for example.) As new ways of AI-augmented/automated processes evolve, we will do some leaping before the trust is fully built. And (I agree) as long as the results are consistent and high-quality, people will begin to trust more. Conversely, if the work process equivalent of AI-slop is the new norm, it will be hard to build trust and momentum.
That is so good! Thank you, David, for the "primer." As usual, you see things many of us don't (and indeed in a way that we don't).
I'm pivoting my business toward AI and am staring agentic AI in the face (right now, it's a blank stare), but I'll figure it out. Keep pointing us in the right direction... as you do so well.
Fully agree, as I also think that this is an essential truth: the future of work is not about replacing humans but about complementing human strengths.
Your picture of the three-dimensional work resonates a lot. Finding the right balance between established structures, decentralized collaboration, and the responsible use of AI will be key to making real progress.
David - thank you. I think this is a great framework to look organizational change. As I read this, I couldn't help but think about new civilizations are routinely built on top of the prior (new job: organizational archaeologist?) The job effectively stays the same, or the desired outcomes remain, the tools used are what changes.
My first corporate job nearly 40 years ago as a "Draftsman" was in the old-school open-air office, with drafting tables lining the walls and we all shared a two-line, party-line phone system. Voice mail? That was the guy at the desk behind me. This was the early days of Computer Aided Design becoming popular (e.g. affordable) outside aerospace and automotive. I really owe a big part of my early career to being part of that digital transformation. It was more evolution than revolution, but I can certainly remember a time well before even e-mail - inter-departmental envelopes with typed memos and requests for meetings.
I make sure to embrace these changes as I had many colleagues early on who thought it was all a fad. It isn't. Even if the current generation of AI/ LLMs etc. do not stay in their current form (they won't) the impact of the change will remain.
This brought me back to my trainee times when sending out 500 telefaxes with press releases. Took half a day to send them and the outcry was big when email replaced it. But look at it today, we can do spend our time better with more valuable actions than typing 500 Telefax numbers into a bulky machine.
A great read!
“How much we build trust in this semi-autonomous work loop will depend on the quality and reliability of our combined human- and machine-generated output.” This line resonated for me because trust is always a necessary ingredient to fully embrace new norms in the workplace. When trust is missing, we take steps backward (take RTO for example.) As new ways of AI-augmented/automated processes evolve, we will do some leaping before the trust is fully built. And (I agree) as long as the results are consistent and high-quality, people will begin to trust more. Conversely, if the work process equivalent of AI-slop is the new norm, it will be hard to build trust and momentum.
That is so good! Thank you, David, for the "primer." As usual, you see things many of us don't (and indeed in a way that we don't).
I'm pivoting my business toward AI and am staring agentic AI in the face (right now, it's a blank stare), but I'll figure it out. Keep pointing us in the right direction... as you do so well.