How will AI change jobs? There are a lot of theories, and as of yet, scant conclusive evidence. However, if you did have to pick a 'canary in a coal mine' to understand the impact of generative AI on the future of work, one place to start would be the global freelance workforce. To understand how  machine intelligence might be influencing how freelancers get things done, I spoke with Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com, one of the world's leading online job marketplaces.

In Matt’s view, AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney allow freelancers to perform at a more elite level. Specifically, rather than substituting talent, AI is driving the workers on his platform to move "up the stack" and develop higher-level skills to remain relevant. 

While many current use cases for generative AI focus on incremental changes to worker productivity, we discussed the more disruptive potential of AI agents that can act autonomously on behalf of humans. This could have profound implications for organizations and society, as AI increasingly mediates our interactions and decisions.

5 Key Insights:

1. AI tools are enabling workers to perform at elite levels across various fields, necessitating a shift in how organizations structure their workforce.

2. The democratization of technology through AI is likely to spark a new wave of entrepreneurship and innovation.


3. Access to contemporary datasets is becoming crucial for maintaining a competitive edge in AI development.


4. Organizations need to prepare for a future where AI agents may handle many interactions and tasks autonomously.


5. There are significant security and privacy concerns associated with AI technologies that can create detailed digital representations of individuals.

We are familiar with the rise of AI generated art, but what impact will these emerging technologies having on more traditional forms of artistic expression? To explore that question, I spoke with Virginia Damtsa, a renowned curator of contemporary art, who has worked with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Ai Weiwei, Cornelia Parker, Olafur Eliasson, Annette Messager and others.

Virginia is currently exhibiting three artists - Jonathan Yeo, Henry Hudson and Von Wolfe - in a group show in London focused on the future of AI art. In our discussion, we covered the contentious relationship between artists and AI, touching upon issues of provenance, copyright, and authenticity.

Damtsa emphasized the importance of artists leading the way in using AI as a tool for experimentation and idea generation, rather than allowing the tool to dominate the creative process. In her view, for some artists, diffusion models represent an opportunity to create their own datasets to not only harness their unique worldview, but to provide a platform for more radical exploration. 

5 Key Insights

1. AI is a powerful tool that can inspire and assist artists in their creative process when used with the artist's vision, leadership and unique distinctive style.

2. Artists can maintain control over their unique styles and prevent plagiarism by creating their own datasets for AI models.

3. AI can democratize imagery and visual art, making it more accessible to a wider audience, but proper acknowledgment, permission and collaboration with artists remain crucial.

4. The intersection of art, academia, and corporations in the AI space can be beneficial when there is open collaboration and respect for artists' rights.

5. While AI can assist with research and idea generation, the emotional and human elements of creativity remain essential to the artistic process.

On a recent visit to Barcelona, I sat down with Marco Bertini, one of the world’s foremost experts on dynamic pricing. Bertini is a professor of marketing at Esade University and the author of the book, ‘The Ends Game: How Smart Companies Stop Selling Products and Start Delivering Value,’ which examines how technology and society stimulate accountability, prompting companies to profit from the outcomes they deliver rather than the offerings they bring to market.

We spoke about the origins of fixed pricing, the impact of AI on dynamic pricing, and the psychological aspects of consumer behavior related to pricing decisions. Bertini shared his insights on how companies can leverage pricing as a mechanism to create value for both businesses and consumers, emphasizing the importance of transparency and ethical practices in the process.

Our discussion also touched upon the concept of access versus ownership, exploring how subscription-based models and outcome-based pricing are transforming various industries. Bertini spoke about the need for companies to focus on customer outcomes and to allocate risk to the party best equipped to handle it.

5 Key Insights:

1. Embrace dynamic pricing strategies that leverage technology to offer personalized prices based on individual consumer preferences and behaviors.

2. Focus on customer outcomes and align pricing models with the value delivered to consumers.

3. Be transparent in communicating pricing strategies to customers and frame them in a way that highlights the benefits for both parties.

4. Consider shifting from ownership-based to access-based models, such as subscriptions or usage-based pricing, to improve asset utilization and customer satisfaction.

5. Use pricing as a mechanism to facilitate mutually beneficial transactions, ensuring that both the company and the consumer derive value from the exchange.

Ben Waber is one of the world’s leading experts on people analytics and organizational culture. He is the founder of Humanyze and a visiting scientist at the MIT Media Lab. We caught up in Tokyo to discuss the future of work and the impact of large language models (LLMs) on productivity. 

In our discussion, Ben emphasizes the importance of considering systemic issues and inherent technological limitations when measuring productivity, arguing that companies often lack proper metrics for assessing the performance of knowledge workers. Despite the current hype around AI, we talked about the fundamental flaws of LLMs, such as their inability to reliably perform sequential reasoning and their lack of coherence, raising concerns about their application in critical areas like HR and legal departments.

Ben suggests that the most valuable work stems from interactions between people with diverse mindsets and experiences, as friction between different perspectives often leads to interesting ideas. He believes that technology should be used to shape these interactions creatively, both for individuals and organizations. While computational tools can assist in this process, humans will remain the driving force behind innovation for the foreseeable future.

5 Key Insights:

1. Task-level analysis of productivity is insufficient; consider systemic issues and the long-term impact of decisions on organizational outcomes.

2. LLMs have inherent limitations, such as the inability to reliably perform sequential reasoning and maintain coherence, making them unsuitable for tasks where truth and accuracy are critical.

3. Firing workers based on short-term productivity gains from LLMs may lead to long-term issues, as domain experts are best equipped to identify the tool's limitations.

4. Valuable work is probabilistic and often driven by interactions between people with diverse perspectives and experiences.

5. Technology should be used to foster creative interactions among employees, but humans will remain the primary source of innovation.

I sat down with Pierre-Yves Calloc'h, Chief Digital Officer at Pernod Ricard, to discuss the company's journey in embracing AI, algorithms and automation to drive marketing effectiveness, sales performance, and consumer engagement. Pernod Ricard, known for its extensive portfolio of brands such as Absolut Vodka, Jameson, and Ballantine's, has been at the forefront of leveraging AI to make data-driven decisions and personalize consumer experiences.

Pierre-Yves shares insights into how AI has transformed various aspects of the business, from optimizing marketing investments and generating personalized content to empowering sales teams with tailored recommendations for each outlet. He emphasizes the importance of transparency, internal capability building, and the role of human judgment in challenging and interpreting AI-driven insights.

Looking ahead, Pierre-Yves envisions a future where AI will enable even greater personalization and adaptation to individual consumer preferences and moments. He highlights the potential for AI to enhance consumer experiences by ensuring that people find the right product at the right time, tailored to their specific desires and the social context of their consumption.

5 Key Insights:

1. Embrace AI and automation to drive marketing effectiveness, sales performance, and consumer engagement.

2. Foster a data-driven culture and empower teams to make decisions based on AI-generated insights while encouraging them to challenge and interpret the recommendations.

3. Invest in building internal AI capabilities to ensure transparency, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with business needs.

4. Prepare for a future where AI enables hyper-personalization and adaptation to individual consumer preferences and moments.

5. Ensure responsible and transparent use of AI, addressing consumer concerns and adhering to ethical guidelines.