It’s become common for people to ask me with a grin,

“Are you ready to be replaced by your AI overlords?”.

I just laugh, not because I’m worried they’re right. If it were true, my career wouldn’t have existed.

Humans have imagined an AI future since we started describing robots. In the 60’s, computer scientists like Marvin Minsky and John McCarthy began laying out concepts for AI.

The “internet” laid the foundation for data sharing between research colleges. For decades, AI researchers were convinced they were on to something but waiting for everyone to catch up.

Remember when IBM’s Watson was the first computer contestant on Jeopardy? IBM’s project could answer trivia questions using natural language processing to parse through the wealth of knowledge it had been trained on. It won first place, outperforming two human competitors. That was 2011.

Two things have occurred that has changes the pace of progress dramatically. First, the amount of data being created has exploded. AI systems get better with more data.

The commercial internet has been available for almost three decades. The past 10 years have seen data grow exponentially. Our consumption of video, audio, streaming, mobile, and social media ensures it will continue.

Second, the computing power and systems needed to support robust AI tool are still in the early days.

Nvidia’s chips used to power the graphics and video cards. Now they power legions of AI chips crunching our data. They went from video games to powering a revolution.

How many of your coworkers are using Chat-GPT for their tasks? How many are doing so within the bounds of a corporate policy or any oversight?

Every week, there are dozens of new GenAI startups offering tools to assist businesses tackle everything from the pitch, a sales engine, to legal and compliance forms. Solutions include customer-facing chatbots, content generation, sales funnel building, lead generation emails, HR policies, and more.

Humans are required to evaluate everything that comes out of an AI vendor or system. Just as social media policies became essential with the advent of social media, AI now demands similar guidelines. These policies are crucial to ensure employees know what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

How many companies are ready to write their AI usage policies? Or develop protocols for interacting with their customers’ AI assisstants?

Have you seen Arc Browser? Prepare for disruption. A browser, knowledge engine (not search), and page explorer in a single chat interface. What are you looking for? Arc finds what you’re looking for and builds custom views of what it finds.

No results pages with blue links and plentiful ads. Will they have ads? How will SEO work?

That’s why, when asked about my future in an AI-dominated world, I smile and think of the endless possibilities. The human phase of AI is just getting started. I more excited as a technologist than I’ve ever been.

How about you?