A Happy New BREATH(E)

Famous artist, investor, and businessman will.i.am (you know, from The Black Eyed Peas) said in a conversation that notably touched upon AI and living a purpose-driven life: “If you are living in a nightmare, you need to dream your way out of it.”

I have previously written about AI as a tsunami that is coming and it seems to have resonated with many. It visualizes how profound and how much more impactful than some believe this tech disruption is. The idea that the sea has already withdrawn was particularly pointed out as we may need to catch our BREATH(E) before figuring out now whether we need to fight or fly.

In an AI roundtable I joined, this topic was discussed with multiple questions, some going deep in terms of meaning, concerns, and the need to understand how this may impact us, disrupt our life and work, and also help us in numerous and unexpected ways.

I feel so far I have run into four types of responses when it comes to AI and what to do about it:

1. Oblivious: the ones who do not care or believe it will not affect them anytime soon.
2. Fatalist: they believe we are doomed and that there is not much we can do about it.
3. Traditionalist: those planning on anticipating it… in due time… using traditional approaches (i.e. change management) and benchmarking it with previous technical breakthroughs, such as the internet or mobile devices, not realizing how terribly off they are timewise.
4. Transcendentalist: tech or even new-age optimists who believe in the values and progress of humanity, our ability to once more overcome this disruptive opportunity, explore the limits and learn from it, focusing on the overall potential benefits, trusting we can find ways to handle if not prevent the risks.

My educated guess would be that all hold only a variable part of the truth. To better figure out what expects us in the future, it always serves to look into the past for guidance. What I mean is that multiple times humanity did face disruptions, with many refusing and condemning an innovation, until it had imposed itself and changed how we live, eventually washing away all resistance. Others would predict how it might play out, anticipating that new future. Interestingly, both would usually be wrong, with most gloomy predictions not materializing and the actual future reality turning out effectively unforeseeable for the most part and to most.

Let me combine this with another notion I wrote about and that fascinates me these days. It goes by the acronym of ExO, which presumably remains some alien jargon for most, or what pundits refer to as Exponential Organizations. ExOs focus on growth and adaptability while leveraging innovative tools, organizational techniques, data, as well as global audiences.

The concept of Exponential Organizations might represent an answer to ride the perfect upcoming storm, namely the unprecedented combination of several technologies rapidly growing, each disrupting multiple sectors. In the past, humanity has experienced repeatedly how one technology upended established paradigms. Think of steam, electricity, the internet, or mobile technologies. This time around we have about a dozen, such as drones, mixed reality (AR/VR), 3D printing, robotics, quantum computing (and superconductors), biotech, neuroscience, solar, nuclear fusion, etc.

ExOs are a new way of thinking about and running organizations, using new technologies and business models. At the core, they are characterized by an MTP (Massive Transformative Purpose), the core vision that drives a company, as well as by ten remarkable attributes that can be applied to drive growth, creativity, and progress. These attributes include notably the use of staff on demand, engaging actively with communities; algorithms and social (media) technologies; the will to constantly experiment, decentralized decision-making and flat hierarchies.

ExOs are not just about hyperscaling, they are equally about using resources mindfully and efficiently. What matters is to run a business faster and more effectively, to build and empower teams who feel aligned and fulfilled, while maximizing their agility, results, and impact toward a common vision. Whether the goal is to go enormously big or to have a meaningful local impact, these attributes are aspirational and aim at encouraging change in the way we work, live, and interact with the world around us.

The central attribute is indeed the MTP because the best tools are only half as good and performing if they are not used with purpose at the core. In my latest Sharechitect newsletter “Autopsy of Purpose”, I reflect in this context on what drives us profoundly and the possible outcomes of future actions and communication when based on purpose. Turns out purpose helps keep the focus and save a nightmare of troubles, as long as that focus remains on the very dreams that got us started. And that is something AI has not; that only humans can use to envision an appealing and wonderful way ahead. Let’s stop worrying in some illusory comfort zone and dare to dream away into 2024!

Whatever your take on all this, remember to BREATHE! Because we all need to…

Become. Realize. Explore. Appreciate. Transcend. Help. Engage.

Thanks and as always, let me know how I can help,

Pascal