Ghost in the Machine
I possess more ambition than time. I've been considering using AI for months. Can it help me find time to pursue my long list of projects? My business partner started incorporating it into our work months ago while I've largely stayed on the sidelines, an AI wallflower. My hesitation is less moral and more practical. I've been at industry forefronts before. I tend to wait before undertaking what I sense will be long-term commitments, like practicing yoga, or buying a new bed. An early adopter, my friend Carl Roose began pivoting his professional focus several years ago from Design to AI, and started a mission-focused consulting practice, Mindteam. I have two fears about the dive I've decided to take. The first is that I'll set automations in motion that will complicate rather than simplify my work, that might screw up. Despite having experienced their considerable abilities, LLMs (large language models, like ChatGPT and Claude) aren't trustworthy enough to function unsupervised. I fear wasting time playing with and configuring a fancy new toy instead of taking tangible steps toward realizing long-held ambitions. My other concern is the learning curve. When I engage, whether it's with Design, Sustainability, or Social Innovation, it's difficult for me to not go all in. For the next four weeks, Carl is going to lead me through Mindteam's Executive AI Flow, a 1-on-1 program designed to help organizational leaders tap into AI's usefulness more quickly than they might on our own. I've sent him my short list of projects, which is long, and includes doing more with this modest platform. Will it help?
