Forget About Future.
This might sound dystopian, but people are overly obsessed with questions like "will AI replace this?", "will AI replace that?", "will AI replace me?"
The honest answer is "No one can say for sure"
Right answer is "The question itself is flawed"
Practical answer is "Ask better questions"
We see some actions being automated, sure. Some people are losing their current jobs. Some companies are getting crazy high valuations. What we don't see is any kind of consensus of what all of this will result in.
Some people see AI progress as impending doom.
Some see ordinary technological advancement.
Others see immense opportunity.
Let's look at it from a practical business angle.
Generative AI is still in very early stages of adoption.
Agentic systems are advancing fast.
AGI/ASI is still hypothetical.
While others fear replacement, you can be the one who replaces.
The Main Revelation of AI (and ChatGPT)
The main thing that the AI boom of 2020s with the rise of image gen AI and GPT text models shows is not that "AI will replace someone".
The main revelation is that most people have no idea how much progress is happening behind the scenes.
Most people can't even remotely imagine what kind of technology is actually possible, how much can be automated, and what comes from this progress.
Most people didn't care about AI research done in the 2010s, even when it was making headlines. So when Midjourney and ChatGPT arrived and went viral, it looked like magic.
Even today people only react to AI news that goes viral enough to reach their short video feed. While real progress happens behind the scenes, and sometimes discussed in niche sources.
Not caring about this progress is no longer an option if you want to stay in business for long.
Why?
Because if you're running a digital business - you're running a digital business.
Tech isn't just something you use, it's the battlefield you're on.
You are on the ground that always moves.
The only way to survive is to move too.
Build even the strongest building - and it will collapse.
Every single improvement in AI, automation, or digital infrastructure can shift the landscape of your entire industry - making previously impossible things possible, changing expectations of your market, changing how to deliver value, changing how your competitors operate.
Okay, what should I do?
Your business strategy must now consider the factor of changing technology. It doesn't mean your entire operations and model must be rebuilt from ground up every single week there is a new AI advancement. But it does mean that having a static 5-year long plan is not a good idea.
You can't be 100% sure of what will happen (otherwise why are you reading this?)
But you can be 100% sure of the strategy and vision you choose for yourself.
Have clarity on what are you trying to achieve, in what ~timeframe, what resources and tools you have available, can current AI be a great asset for your business or is it just a distraction. Understand that the situation in AI and tech is changing very fast, constantly. The pace of change is accelerating and we have to live with it. Build your business around your clarity and this understanding - you have to adapt quickly, but still know where are you going.
It might be helpful to assign a specific person in your company to monitor AI news every single week or at least once a month. Or even do it yourself.
Don't get distracted by random opportunities, but keep an eye on tech progress. You need conviction in your direction and flexibility in your tactics.
Some problems that were previously hard to solve or required boring manual work - no longer do. New tools provide solutions to more and more problems. Take advantage of that.
If you don't see how AI automation can benefit your business yet - don't force it, but at least use AI yourself, get familiar with how it works, integrate it into your workflow.
Don't wait for overpowered AI agents either - use the tools you have access to right now.
It's not too late and it's definitely not too early - now is just the right time.
Embrace acceleration.
"Wait, all this is just about having strategy and checking the news?
Isn't this something we always had to do, even before the AI?"
Precisely.
Strategy and news is what we do