What would actually happen, if AI would take over your job? A question Pablos Holman, hacker, inventor and futurist, thinks a lot about. People would thrive, is his answer. A lot of them would lose their jobs, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing. In his opinion they could finally do what only humans can do: take care of each other. It’s not the dystopian picture people have in mind, when they think about machine learning, but rather an opportunity to evolve to a next level of freedom.
Why we don’t embrace Artificial Intelligence
The problem seems to be that a lot of people don’t really know what AI is about. “But it’s not a crazy hard thing”, to use Pablos Holmans words. Instead Amy Wilkinson, founder of the entrepreneurial intelligence startup Ingenuity, sees it just like the other participants of to the DLD panel Leadership in the age of AI as a tool to enhance the future of work. A wingman to learn and get forward faster. It can help amplify human productivity by crunching data to hire the right people, and direct and redirect employees within large corporations and therefore is much needed in a world that changes as quickly as ours.
In the opinion of Tomasz Smacznys, Global Chief Information Officer of ERGO Group, a lot of companies welcome AI with open arms. But they are missing the diversity of thoughts and should encourage it rather than sticking to their old structures. Amy Wilkinson made similar observations: “When it comes to C-Suites, I see that most of them stopped asking questions. But thinking you’re an expert on something is your Achilles heel. An entrepreneur never stops asking questions.” And if they don’t understand what’s going on, they are supposed to ask someone who knows. In this case probably a much younger employee.
Be more curious. Embrace change. Ask more questions.
Host Jennifer Schenker, founder of the tech magazine The Innovator, summarizes: “To lead into the new age of AI, companies need empower their employees and themselves to be more curious, embrace change and above all ask more questions.” Many big companies today have the necessary data to migrate to the age of AI and for the first time, Amy Wilkinson notes, the talents stay in the large companies. But they need to allow people to experiment again, fail and learn. “Entrepreneurs don’t follow the equation. They apply trial and error, and they find the next equation, the next big thing”. If companies use the data they already have and give entrepreneurs the room to use them, they will lead their companies into the future.