NYT Magazine panel: “Who Will Actually Thrive in the Hybrid A.I.-Human Workforce”

Last week’s New York Time’s Magazine published a digital recording of a panel discussion: “Who Will Actually Thrive in the Hybrid A.I.-Human Workforce” featuring three AI experts:Dean Ball, senior fellow at the Foundation for American InnovationEthan Mollick, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.Clara Shih, former top A.I. executive at Salesforce and Meta.Bill Wasik, Editorial Director, New York Times (moderator).

The panelists spent an hour disagreeing about almost everything. They argue over whether AI is a slow grind or a fast rupture. They argue whether AI creates jobs or destroys them. And of course, whether the future is wonderful or horrible.

I was particularly drawn to the experts talking about AI disruption like weather disruption, or worse, a pandemic. In reference to human employees, Shih explains: “I expect more and more of their tasks…to be taken over by A.I. I see that playing out in multiple industries.”The thing is that implementation of AI in a business is not some external event that just happens to the business. As one panelist pointed out, AI agents have goals, and whoever deploys the technology sets the goal. A company reorganizing around AI isn't caught in a storm or a pandemic. It's making a strategic bet to run leaner and capture the value. This is a strategic choice, executed for the benefit of the business.

Employees on the receiving end of the commentary need to keep this straight when the conversation becomes one about the continuation of their job. "The business had to evolve" explains why the company is restructuring. It doesn't explain why an employee should absorb the cost of a decision someone else made to grow.

The people treated fairly in a reshuffle aren't the ones who trust it'll be fair or accept that something bad happened to the company and they are just collateral damage. The people who are treated fairly, are the ones who already know what they were promised in writing and know how to negotiate to ensure they get what they bargained for.

Know what you signed. Know what you're worth.