As you may know, I have been writing a book called Work 9.0 since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you remember those days, the signal-to-noise ratio was off the charts, and most of us were saying to ourselves, "We cannot keep going on like this."
I believe the pandemic served as a wake-up call; it revealed how inundated everyone is with information to the point that it’s increasingly difficult to discern valuable insights from the noise. But the pandemic also created a global teachable moment. The "Great Pause" indeed gave us some time to think about our lives, our work, our relationships, and our world.
This is essentially the origin story for Work 9.0. Over the last several years, I’ve been reading, researching, and trying to understand how work has evolved, where it’s going, and how this progression helps us better understand ourselves and others. Useful Information (UI) is critical to this ongoing effort.
The advent of ChatGPT and the subsequent boom of AI mark a significant acceleration in the transition I've been describing. In short, I deeply believe generative AI will enhance our comprehension of information in ways that benefit individuals, teams, departments, companies, and society as a whole. It will give us access to more genuinely Useful Information.
But like previous work transitions throughout history, this new age will not be without its challenges. Nevertheless, I am a big proponent of the long game and am confident that, ultimately, these technological advancements will help make the world a better place for everyone.
AI and Useful Information
I believe Useful Information is integral to our current and forthcoming stages
of work. From hunting and foraging to agrarianism, from the Industrial
Revolution to the Information Age, it's my conviction that we as a people evolve and that technology makes us evolve for the better. This progress, fueled by AI, promises immense benefits for humanity.
We’ve reached an inflection point in society, marked by shifting paradigms in our approach to work, life, and human connections. The massive influx of data now at our disposal has completely changed everything we know, or thought we knew, about our understanding of business in the 21st century. For starters, the global pandemic accelerated digital transformation (some say by as much as a decade). Now, we stand on the precipice of a new era, the age of generative AI, which has sparked much speculation about its implications — with some even drawing apocalyptic parallels.
At Ninety, we champion a different narrative, one where AI seeks to liberate and enable us to evolve into better Founders, CEOs, investors, thinkers, leaders, educators, and, above all, more compassionate human beings. The impacts on how we approach our vocations will be profound as well. As we enter Work 8.0, we envision immense new potential for not just reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, but making information more comprehensible and valuable than ever before.
If you have a story to share about bridging this gap and harnessing Useful Information or data for your clients, business, or personal growth, we’d love to hear from you!
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