All those promised productivity gains from AI you read in newsletters — 8%, 20%, even more — they’re exciting and very good marketing. And AI will certainly play a huge role in making work faster and smarter. I am not only a believer but I am also certain.
But I wonder: how much of those gains come from the preparation for AI itself? The process of mapping workflows, questioning inefficiencies, and streamlining tasks before you bring AI into the picture can unlock massive improvements on its own.
Maybe businesses are seeing productivity gains not just from AI, but from the strategic cleanup AI forces us to do. That mindset shift — to organize, clarify, and simplify — could be a hidden bonus in those AI success stories and maybe even more important that the assistants themselves for now?
When we discuss AI, conversations typically focus on how it can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance existing processes. But is this narrow view limiting the true possibilities of AI?
The time where industrialized society's primary goal was gathering information has ended. Information is now abundant and widely accessible, presenting the new challenge of effectively combining and applying this information to drive innovation. We must evolve from passive recipients of data to active creators, capable of synthesizing ideas and applying them in practical, innovative ways.
