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Author Archive | David

Emerging Lexicon of Work in the Age of AI

By on 9th January 2025

For lovers of language we’re living through a fascinating transformation in how we talk about work and technology. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape industries, it’s also shaping our language. New terms and concepts are emerging that reflect not just technological shifts but cultural and philosophical ones. Are these just buzz—or do they capture deep insights about the way we work now and where we’re headed. Below are three recent examples that caught my attention.

The “Laptop Class”

Elon Musk has popularized the term “laptop class” to describe knowledge workers whose tools of trade are computers and connectivity. It’s a term that resonates with a subtle jab—it suggests a degree of disconnection from the physical and operational realities of the industries they influence. Think of remote tech workers weighing in on manufacturing processes or software engineers reimagining agriculture from a coffee shop. Musk’s phrase hints at the growing divide between digital knowledge work and the tactile, real-world jobs it seeks to automate or enhance. Will the ‘laptop class’ be first to be disrupted by AI?

IT as HR for AI Agents

NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang recently offered a glimpse into the future of IT departments, saying they’ll evolve to become the “HR department for AI agents.” It’s a provocative analogy. In this vision, IT will be less about managing servers and more about “hiring,” onboarding, and “training” AI agents. The job of IT professionals will include refining algorithms, curating datasets, and ensuring ethical AI conduct—essentially acting as the mediators between human goals and digital execution. Are we on a path toward unintended consequences involving ethical dilemmas surrounding machine and human rights?

Fusion Skills: The AI-Human Partnership

I recently came across the concept of “fusion skills,” in the Harvard Business Review (Vol 102 Issue 5 Sept – October 2024). Stated as the new capabilities professionals need to thrive in collaboration with AI. Far from replacing human workers, AI demands complementary skills to unlock its full potential:

  • Intelligent Interrogation: Crafting prompts and instructions to extract the best reasoning and outcomes from AI tools. This is more art than science—an iterative dance between clarity, precision, and creativity.
  • Judgment Integration: Knowing when to let the AI run and when to intervene with human insight, especially in cases involving nuance, ethics, or uncertainty. This is where human values meet machine logic.
  • Reciprocal Apprenticing: Teaching AI to work better in specific contexts, essentially tailoring its capabilities to meet unique challenges. It’s a partnership where humans and AI learn from each other.

Will people that are able to write, or speak better, get more out of GenAI?

A New Vocabulary for a New Reality

Are these terms aren’t just clever marketing; or do they represent a shift in how we conceptualize work? They highlight the merging of human creativity, critical thinking, and technical expertise with the computational power of AI. Are you navigating the cultural critiques of the “laptop class,” preparing to onboard your first AI teammate, or sharpening your fusion skills, the language of work is evolving—and so are we. Words matter.

The limits of my language is the limits of my world.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

My 2025 Daily Checklist

By on 2nd January 2025

I’ve been thinking about what to focus on in 2025 to be more productive and happier. I developed a short checklist that captures five key questions I’m exploring to get there. These are heuristics, not absolute truths, and they’ll evolve over time. I hope you find them helpful as well.

1. Is my own narcissism getting in my way?

Narcissism is often associated with obvious self-importance, but for me, it can be more subtle. I see it in two main areas: emotional fragility, where I feel hurt when my self-image is challenged, leading to shame, insecurity, or lack of motivation; and poor conflict resolution, which involves avoiding difficult conversations and not setting boundaries. Develop an awareness for how these areas unconsciously impact my actions.

2. Am I living a doctrine of luck?

Virginia Heffernan wrote a piece on ‘Luck’ in Wired (Sept 2022) that I think about daily. She argues for a view of life that acknowledges skepticism about meritocracy, recognizing the contingency of one’s own advantages, and embracing spontaneity, serendipity, and life’s unpredictability. Above all, it involves practicing gratitude: realizing that life is okay, and it could easily have been otherwise. Find ways to make more luck in your life!

3. Am I living a zero-based life?

“Zero-based” here means not letting things build up—bills, emails, errands, jobs, or emotional baggage. By ending each day on a clean slate, avoid building up debts that soon start compounding. It will probably be the hardest habit to maintain because it means saying no to my own habit to postpone.

4. Am I building systems instead of just striving for goals?

Inspired by Atomic Habits (James Clear) and the daily discipline of Stoic philosophy, I try not to obsess over big goals. Instead, focus on developing effective systems and routines, placing my attention on daily inputs rather than worrying about long-term outcomes.

5. Do I have an optimistic explanatory style?

I first encountered Martin Seligman’s work on happiness in 2024. As a moderate pessimist, my tendency is to interpret setbacks as universal, permanent, and my own fault. My goal is to shift seeing them as specific, temporary, and largely external – so that I recover faster and maintain a healthier outlook. Use rumination to act vs. falling into leaned helplessness.

Wishing you a happy and fulfilling new year! May we all find ways to be more productive, more at peace, and more open to life’s serendipities.

Integrating Regenerative Design with Free Market Economics: The Role of ESG in Creating Sustainable Value

By on 7th July 2024

In this article I explore the intersection of regenerative design, shifts to long-termism, free market economics, and how businesses can start on the path to sustainability.

In today’s evolving business landscape, the integration of regenerative design within the framework of capitalism is gaining momentum. At the heart of this intersection lies Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, which provide a vital roadmap for businesses aiming to achieve sustainability while seeking growth

How It Can Work

  • Investment and Funding: ESG metrics are becoming crucial for investors seeking sustainable and ethical investments. Companies adopting regenerative design can attract ESG-focused investors by demonstrating long-term, impactful practices .
  • Risk Management: ESG helps businesses manage risks related to environmental and social issues. Regenerative design further mitigates these risks by creating resilient and sustainable systems, ensuring stability and adaptability .
  • Market Differentiation: By integrating ESG and regenerative design, companies can differentiate themselves in the market. Consumers and clients increasingly favor businesses committed to sustainability and positive social impact .
  • Regulatory Compliance and Incentives: Governments are setting standards and providing incentives for ESG compliance. Companies embracing regenerative design are better positioned to meet these regulations and benefit from associated incentives .
  • Innovation and New Business Models: The convergence of ESG and regenerative design fosters innovation, leading to new products, services, and business models that are both profitable and beneficial to society and the environment .
  • Shift from Short-termism to Long-termism: Embracing a long-term perspective is crucial for aligning capitalism with regenerative design. Prioritizing long-term benefits over short-term gains ensures sustainable success and resilience against future challenges.

Challenges to Overcome

  • Short-term vs. Long-term Thinking: Traditional capitalism often prioritizes short-term profits, which can conflict with the long-term focus of regenerative design. Shifting this mindset to long-termism is crucial for sustainable success .
  • Valuing Non-financial Metrics: Regenerative design emphasizes ecological and social value, which may not be immediately quantifiable in financial terms. Businesses need new metrics to recognize the full spectrum of benefits .
  • Collaboration and Systemic Change: Regenerative design often requires cross-industry collaboration, challenging the competitive nature of capitalism. Embracing cooperative and systemic approaches is essential for achieving regenerative outcomes .

By embracing ESG principles and regenerative design, and shifting from short-termism to long-termism, businesses can align their operations with the demands of a sustainable future while thriving in a capitalist economy. This holistic approach not only ensures profitability but also contributes to the well-being of society and the planet.

By regenerative design I mean an approach to creating systems and structures that restore, renew, and revitalize their own sources of energy and materials, resulting in a net positive impact on the environment, society, and the economy.

Capitalism is an economic system in which private individuals and businesses own and control the means of production and operate for profit, driven by the forces of supply and demand in a competitive marketplace, generally when demand remains high, resources are exploited until they are depleted. At that point, new resources are sought. This is a key feature of capitalism.

References

Speaking Machine

By on 28th December 2023

I enjoyed How to Speak Machine by John Maeda. Language and thinking to move our understanding of the current ‘AI’ moment beyond the hype. A non-exhaustive list of resonating quotes from the book. I love neologisms to understand differently and the idea of trying out new technologies for yourself, to play.

Computation

Computation is an invisible, alien universe that is infinitely large and infinitesimally detailed. It’s a kind of raw material that doesn’t obey the laws of physics, and it’s what powers the internet at a level that far transcends the power of electricity.

A new form of design has emerged: computational design.

These new kinds of interactions with our increasingly intelligent devices and surroundings require a fundamental understanding of how computing works to maximize what we can make.

Design matters a lot when it is leveraged with a deep understanding of computation and the unique set of possibilities it brings.

More than mathematics and electricity

… computation has expanded both in technical capability and sociocultural impact.

We are entering an era in which the computing machines we use today are powered not just by electricity and mathematics, but by our every actions and with insights gained in real time as we use them.

I have always believed that being curious is better than being afraid – for when we are curious we get inventive, whereas when we are afraid we get destructive.

Demystify it for yourself

There is a common lack of understanding of what computation fundamentally can and cannot do. Rather than give away your power of understanding to someone else, I invite you to be curious about the computational universe.

A meta machine that never gets tired

It is a meta mechanical machine that never experiences surface friction and is never subject to the forces of gravity like a real mechanical machine – so it runs in complete perfection.

Software above physical devices

In essence, he was describing the era we live in today, in which there are apps for everything and we depend more on the software than the actual physical devices in which they function.

Recursion

…nature paints with recursion quietly and obviously.

The central idea is to express the definition of something with a definition of itself, which is a vaguely imaginable idea that doesn’t have a home in the real world but is completely native in the realm of cyberspace.

Complexity

‘Complicated’ means something that is knowable, and although it may take time, it’s wholly possible to understand.
‘Complex’ means something that is not knowable, and even brute force can’t easily tackle it.

The Cloud – tentacles of a cyber machine

Today we are at the point when holding any digital device is like grasping the tiny tentacle of an infinitely large cyber machine floating in the cloud that can do unnaturally powerful things.

The cloud model represents a fundamental shift in how companies can get built, where the raw materials are all completely etherial, virtual, and invisible.

From AI to Machine Learning and Deep Learning

When taking about this sea change, we tend not to use the term ‘AI’, because it carries some negative connotations from the past. Instead, we prefer two terms to describe this newer kind of artificial intelligence: ‘machine learning’ ML and ‘deep learning’ DL.

Manage inputs, not outputs

By on 1st April 2023

I keep returning to Working backwards. Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon. A great insiders view of Amazon’s period of growth and mindset of customer obsession.

I want to focus here on what Amazon calls input and output metrics. Amazon focuses on controllable input metrics, the drivers, when managed well can lead to profitable growth.

The CEO, and companies in general, have very little ability to directly control output metrics. What is really important is to focus on “controllable input metrics,” the activities you directly control, which ultimately affect output metrics such as share price.

Amazon calls leading indicators, ‘controllable input metrics’ and lagging indicators ‘output metrics’. Input metrics are factors that you can control like SKUs in a category. Output metrics can’t be directly manipulated in a sustainable manner over the long term, like sales. It now becomes clear that focusing on inputs that don’t have an impact on outputs is waste. Choosing the right metrics, and tools to measure them takes time.

Output metrics show results. Input metrics show guidance. Trends will show up earlier in input metrics, if you only focus on output metrics like ‘revenue’ you won’t see the effects of, for example, customer deceleration for quite some time.

If you look at the input metrics for Amazon, they often describe things customers care about, such as low pricers, lots of available products, fast shipping, few customer service contacts, and a speedy website or app. A lot of the output metrics, such as revenue and free cash flow, are what you’d typically see in a company’s financial reports. Customers don’t care about those.

Controllable input metrics are quantitative (diving deep with data) and qualitative (anecdotes) way of measuring how well the organization is satisfying those customer interests so that the output metrics trend the way the company desires.

Input and output metrics is such a simple way of looking at systems and can be applied to both business and life in general.