Here's a conversation starter from Nish: How Will AI Replace the Traditional Org Chart? For decades, organizations have operated like white-collar assembly lines, treating work as a step-by-step process with deterministic inputs and outputs—just like a factory supply chain. But with AI taking over the machine-like tasks that have defined our jobs, the traditional org chart is on the verge of collapse. AI is better, faster, and more consistent at machine work than humans. As AI takes over these repetitive processes, organizations have two choices: replace humans entirely or elevate them to focus on creativity, curiosity, and innovation. The real opportunity lies in the latter—using AI to free up human potential to drive differentiation and competitive advantage.

AI often seems like an enigma—powerful, complex, and almost magical. But is it really that complicated? The truth? AI is just technology—it follows where we lead it. The real challenge? Humans. We’re the unpredictable, creative, and sometimes irrational part of the equation. As AI continues to evolve, we must ask ourselves: What will AI be in service of? Will it simply accelerate our current pace, or will it shape our future in ways we’ve yet to imagine? We are at the start of the next renaissance—an era filled with both chaos and opportunity. With these new superpowers, we have the ability to bring more of our imagination into reality, and we can reimagine tomorrow.

Here's a conversation starter from Nish: Where is the True Source of Differentiation in the Age of AI? Most people are using AI in the most basic way—automating tasks, scaling workflows, and accelerating what we already do. But the real power of AI isn’t in doing yesterday’s work faster—it’s in creating entirely new possibilities for tomorrow. Think of AI as a meteor that crashed to Earth, revealing new elements on the periodic table— unlocking capabilities we’ve never had before. If scientists discovered a new element today, they wouldn’t just ask how to use it in existing formulas; they’d explore what entirely new things it makes possible. That’s how we should approach AI.

A meteor has crashed to Earth—and it’s called AI. But when we think of meteors, we often think of dinosaurs, and the common Hollywood-style myth that they all vanished instantly after impact. The truth? It took time. And extinction didn’t happen to all of them—some evolved, and we call them birds today. The same lesson applies to us. If your work today is 100% machine work, you may be in AI’s blast radius, especially if your organization is focused on short-term cost-cutting. But even if you’re outside the immediate impact zone, extinction is still coming—unless you choose evolution. AI isn’t just a one-time event. It’s a continuously evolving force, reshaping industries, organizations, and careers at an unprecedented speed. The question is: Will you adapt, or will you be left behind?

We’re in uncharted waters. Just like Magellan and his crew sailed out into the fog without a map, we are setting sail into the unknown with AI. There's no clear roadmap for how AI will reshape our world, but we’re on an incredible adventure to find our way forward. ust as sailors used lighthouses to find their way, we must have conversations—with ourselves, as teams, and as communities—to discover AI’s potential.

I've had multiple AI Big Bang moments, and as AI continues to evolve, we all should be experiencing more of them. AI isn’t just a tool—it’s a bridge between our ideas and reality. From storytelling to art, it amplifies our ability to imagine, create, and share. Just like humanity has gathered around campfires for centuries to tell stories of what could be, AI now helps bring those stories to life. The more we use these tools, the more we shape the future we want. Let’s embrace the power of AI and keep expanding our creative horizons.

Right now, it feels like we are all Magellan, setting sail into the unknown. Just as early explorers ventured out without maps or GPS, we are embarking on an AI journey without a clear roadmap. AI is unlike any other technology we’ve seen in the last hundred years—it will change everything. We don’t yet understand the full terrain of AI’s impact. But that’s both the challenge and the opportunity. Our task isn’t just to react—it’s to engage in conversation, experiment, and create lighthouses of understanding that guide us forward. This is more than just technological change—it’s a new Renaissance. Yes, there will be chaos, but also incredible new possibilities. The key is to actively shape AI’s future, asking what we want it to be in service of—as individuals, organizations, communities, and nations. We are all on this AI adventure together. Through dialogue, exploration, and discovery, we can illuminate the path forward—just as sailors once mapped the world.

We often talk about prompting AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude, but the real conversation should be: What is the future we want to prompt? AI is changing everything—but will it happen to us, or will we shape it? The future of AI shouldn’t be left to chance or just financial balance sheets. Instead, we need to ask: 1. What do we want to be? (Individually, as teams, organizations, and societies) 2. How do we want to leverage AI for human progress? 3. What role should AI play in shaping our collective future? If we don’t engage in these discussions, we risk becoming bystanders in an AI-driven world. But if we do, we can steer AI’s impact—turning it into middleware for human imagination rather than just another tool for profit.

We often think AI is the complex part of the equation. After all, it’s an incredibly sophisticated technology—thinking at scale and speed, with an IQ of 120+ and growing. But the truth is, AI is easy. It’s just a tool. We are the navigators. The real challenge? Humans. AI follows our direction, but what do we want it to be in service of? Scaling what we did yesterday, or shaping the possibilities of tomorrow? Maximizing financial balance sheets, or maximizing the human experience? We are at the start of a new Renaissance—a time of both chaos and opportunity. AI gives us the superpower to translate more of our imagination into reality. But the question is: What future do we want to create?

AI for What? A Pragmatic Optimist’s Take

I often say I’m an AI optimist—but more accurately, I’m a pragmatic AI optimist.

Yes, I believe in the transformative potential of AI. From revolutionizing healthcare to designing more elegant solutions to climate, homelessness, hunger—AI offers us an incredible toolkit.

We can unlock new levels of creativity, impact, and efficiency—individually and collectively.

Much of the conversation around AI today is rooted in fear—fear of losing jobs, relevance, and identity. Over the last two years, I’ve spoken to hundreds of professionals who worry that AI, with its speed, scale, and efficiency, will replace them. Identity isn’t just about what we can do—it’s about who we are and how we adapt. AI will inevitably take over much of the machine work we do today. But within that loss is an opportunity: to redefine ourselves, discover new strengths, and sculpt a new version of who we can be. AI isn’t here to erase us—it’s here to free us to focus on what makes us uniquely human.

For decades, we’ve believed in a false distinction between blue-collar and white-collar work. The reality? Today’s org chart is just a white-collar assembly line. Work has become programmatic, with rigid processes and predefined inputs and outputs—just like a supply chain. We’ve been squeezed into increasingly smaller boxes, performing machine-like tasks rather than truly human work. But AI is about to change everything.

Most people are using AI in the most basic way—as a tasking tool to automate repetitive work. But that’s just the beginning. The real power of AI lies in thinking and transformation—partnering with AI to innovate, create, and shape the future.

Technology has always been our evolutionary companion—from fire and the wheel to the baby sling that helped shape human intelligence. But just as we create technology, technology, in turn, sculpts us. AI is no different. It is the culmination of all the technological stepping stones that have come before, and it will profoundly reshape us as individuals and as a society.

Many discussions about AI are rooted in sanitized stories of past technologies—but this time is different. AI’s scope, scale, and speed are unlike anything humanity has ever faced. As Ray Kurzweil said, this century will bring 20,000 years of technological progress—and we are not biologically or culturally built for that pace of change. We often use history as a GPS for the future, but AI is rewriting the map. The transitions of the past were chaotic and uncertain—just as this one will be.

How Will AI Amplify Human Potential? We shouldn't fear AI but instead let machines machine, so humans can once again human. As organizations and individuals, we've become trapped in algorithmically defined roles, performing routine, step-by-step tasks. But AI presents us with an opportunity—not to replace humans, but to liberate us.

Michelangelo once said, "The statue was already there. I just got rid of the excess rubble." This timeless idea isn't just about art—it’s about life, growth, and even AI. Many of us fear AI because it’s automating tasks we once thought defined our value. But what if AI isn’t here to replace us, but to remove the rubble—the repetitive, mechanical work—so we can uncover our true creative potential? For years, our work environments have made us more robotic, focusing on efficiency over creativity. But by letting AI handle the "machine work," we can rediscover what makes us human—our imagination, originality, and ability to create. Just like a sculptor chips away at marble to reveal a masterpiece, AI can help us chip away at the mundane to reveal our full potential. The question is: Are we ready to pick up the chisel?

Much of today’s conversation around artificial intelligence is rooted in fear—fear of losing jobs, becoming irrelevant, and being replaced. But what if AI is not a threat, but an opportunity? In this video, I share a personal perspective on fear and identity, drawing from my own experience with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), a degenerative neurological condition. Just as I had to redefine myself beyond my physical abilities, professionals today must redefine their value beyond the “machine work” AI is automating.

In the rush to leverage AI tools like ChatGPT and cloud technologies, we’re missing a critical conversation: What future do we actually want to create? Too often, we focus solely on how to use AI to get the job done. But the real question is, what kind of world do we want AI to help us build? We need to be talking about how AI will shape our future as individuals, teams, organizations, communities, and even nations.

Most people are using AI in boring, predictable ways—to automate, scale, and cut costs. They treat it like a spice from Whole Foods, just sprinkling it on top of what they’ve always done. But AI isn’t a garnish—it’s a completely new element in the periodic table of innovation. Imagine a meteor crashed to Earth, and inside it, we found Vibranium—the powerful, world-changing element from Wakanda. Scientists wouldn’t just ask, "How can we use this to do what we already do—just faster?" They’d explore entirely new possibilities. AI is that meteor. It’s an entirely new material for building the future. A future that belongs to those who innovate. The real value isn’t just in efficiency—it’s in discovery and reinvention. AI can help us turn imagination into reality, redefine our careers, and build stepping stones for the future. The organizations that win won’t just automate—they’ll use AI to create the next generation of ideas, industries, and opportunities. Will you think short-term and just cut costs? Or will you think long-term and build the future?