Don't Wait for Anyone to Figure Out AI for You
A recent opinion piece in the New York Times shines a spotlight on the topic that’s on everyone’s mind: AI is moving faster than the institutions meant to help workers adapt can fathom. The Times piece’s author Gina Raimondo — a former U.S. Secretary of Commerce — argues we need a new “grand bargain” between government, employers, and higher education to keep up with AI-driven job displacement. It’s a thoughtful piece, and the policy ideas are worth debating.
But my take is more stark. Don’t hold your breath waiting for that grand bargain to cover you if (or when) AI replaces your job.
Neither the Government or Higher Ed is Coming Anytime Soon
Politicians are the last to understand the impacts technology imparts on the economy’s key stakeholders, and when they begin to figure it out, they move too slowly. Higher education moves even slower, wedded to the model that’s been in place for centuries. And while companies will certainly be the first to discover which AI tools are replacing roles in their organizations, they’re not exactly rushing to publish a public skills roadmap for you to follow. That’s not cynicism — it’s just the reality of how institutions operate when change moves this fast and competitive advantages are precious.
The workers who got caught in the last big waves of automation — manufacturing in the ‘80s and ‘90s — largely had to figure things out on their own, too. The difference now is that the tools to adapt are actually sitting right in front of you, and they’re more accessible than ever.
What “Working With AI” Actually Looks Like
The phrase “AI will change every industry” is true but not very actionable. What’s more useful is getting specific about your industry and your role. If you haven’t already, sign up for the pro version of Anthropic or Google’s Gemini AI platforms, and just start using them in a way that augments the workflows and tools that are central to how you work today.
Here are a few examples of what this might look like depending on where you work in your organization today, no matter what level you’re at:
If you’re in a product or technical role, imagine building a lightweight workflow where AI helps define requirements, generates a first draft of code, flags issues or bugs, and does all of this before a human engineer reviews and approves anything that goes to production. You’re not replacing yourself as a product manager, designer, or engineer; you’re utilizing AI to accelerate what your product development organization can build and ship for customers.
If you’re in sales or marketing, think about using AI to identify and score potential leads, then auto-generate a personalized outreach sequence that enables your team to spend less time on cold list-building and more time on the conversations that actually close business.
If you work in finance or accounting, consider how you might use AI to connect daily transaction activity to your financial reporting systems in real-time, so instead of waiting for a monthly close, your team always has a current view of your business metrics and the information needed to make decisions at any time.
These examples can be executed by anyone right now. They’re workflows people are building and implementing in their roles today, and they’re doing so with AI tools that cost less per month than a gym membership.
The Most Important Investment You Can Make Right Now
If there’s one tangible step to take this week, it’s this: get access to a capable AI platform and start using it on real work problems. Not to just generate an email or a fun video. Apply it to something you actually do every day and see how it makes you more productive.
You’ll make mistakes and so will the AI, and the two of you will go in circles a bit. That’s the point. Learning how these tools work and where they fall short is a skill in itself – and it’s one that will compound over time whether you’re a college student, a mid-career professional, or a first-time manager.
Hopefully government and higher education leaders will eventually catch up. But don’t wait for that to happen. Those who dive in now to leverage AI in their work will be the ones leading through the upcoming waves — not the ones flailing to stay ahead of them.
So what’s one task in your current role you could hand off to AI this week?
Read the full NYT Opinion piece by Gina Raimondo here.
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