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Chief in Tech S1E5 - Shaping the Future of Business with AI and Emerging Technologies (Linda Yao, COO Lenovo) · Chief in Tech Deep Dive Shortcast

• 0:00
  Okay, so today we're diving into AI for business leaders.
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  And you know, everyone's talking about AI,
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  but we wanna cut through the hype
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  and get to the practical stuff.
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  What does it actually mean for you?
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  So to help us with that, we've got some great insights
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  from Linda Yao, COO of Lenovo's Solutions and Services Group.
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  Yeah, and what's really interesting about Linda
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  is she's actually seen like three different AI booms
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  during her career, so it's not her first rodeo.
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  Right.
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  And every time, it wasn't just hype,
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  there were actually real changes,
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  you know, practical applications that came out of it.
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  Yeah, it's not theoretical for her, right.
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  Exactly.
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  She's seeing it actually impact businesses,
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  and she actually connects it back
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  to something I thought was really interesting.
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  Remember the whole Flash Boys thing with high-speed trading?
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  She said that was AI too, you know,
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  quietly revolutionizing Wall Street.
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  Interesting, yeah.
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  But now she sees it like expanding even further.
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  Like every industry is gonna be touched by this
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  in ways we're just starting to figure out.
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  Yeah, and the important thing to remember here
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  is it's not just about the tech companies like Lenovo
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  that are building this stuff.
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  It's about how AI is actually changing the playing field
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  for everybody else.
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  Yeah, and speaking of Lenovo,
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  something I thought was really interesting
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  about her approach is she's all about, you know,
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  that saying eating your own cooking.
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  Right.
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  They're very much about testing these solutions
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  internally first before they even think
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  about bringing them to clients.
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  Exactly, they wanna make sure that it works.
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  And they have a great example,
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  using AI to make their own supply chain more efficient.
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  They actually cut shipping costs by like 10% just from that.
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  So, you know, they're not just talking the talk.
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  Yeah, it's reassuring.
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  It's not just a concept, right?
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  They're actually using this stuff themselves.
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  Yeah.
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  But okay, so with all this talk about practical AI,
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  where do you even begin?
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  Like as a business leader,
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  it's like how do you even wrap your head around all this?
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  Yeah, it can be overwhelming for sure.
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  That's where Linda's four pillars come in.
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  Okay.
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  So it has this framework and it starts
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  with a really powerful duo,
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  security first and people next.
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  Okay, so security first, people next.
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  So it sounds like it's not just about the tech itself,
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  it's about making sure that your systems
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  and your team are ready for this whole AI driven future.
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  Yeah, you have to have a really solid foundation.
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  So robust security is obviously critical
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  because you are gonna be dealing with a lot of data
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  and you wanna protect that.
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  And then the people aspect is huge too.
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  You need to make sure that your workforce is, you know,
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  comfortable and prepared for all these changes
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  that AI is gonna bring.
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  That resonates so much because you could have
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  the most cutting edge AI tool in the world.
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  But if your data is not secure
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  or if your employees are afraid to even use it,
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  you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot
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  before you even begin, right?
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  Exactly.
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  And to help navigate that whole people aspect,
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  Linda has this question that she says every business leader
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  should be asking about every single task.
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  And it's a good one.
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  Will AI automate it, augment it or replace it entirely?
• 2:51
  Wow.
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  And the answer to that has huge implications for,
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  you know, your talent strategy, your training programs,
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  how you manage your people in this age of AI.
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  That's a big question, right?
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  Because it gets to the heart of this whole like
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  job security thing that everyone's worried about.
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  But it sounds like Linda's not saying
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  AI is coming for our jobs.
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  It's more like how can AI help us be better
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  at what we already do?
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  Right, exactly.
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  And it's interesting because once you've got
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  that foundation in place, like you said,
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  with the security, with the people,
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  she says the other two pillars kind of fall into place,
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  technology and process.
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  You've built that foundation.
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  And now you can actually start building with AI as a tool.
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  It makes sense when you think about it that way, right?
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  You've taken care of like the really important stuff,
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  the security, making sure your people are on board.
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  And now you can actually focus on,
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  okay, how do we implement this in a way
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  that actually makes our processes, our workflows better?
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  Yeah, and by putting security first and people next,
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  you're not just like mitigating risk.
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  You're actually putting yourself in a position
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  to actually really succeed with AI.
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  Setting yourself up for success.
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  Yeah, and not just from a tech standpoint,
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  but from that human element too.
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  But speaking of success,
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  you know, one of the things that Linda talks about
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  that I thought was really interesting is how AI
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  is changing the way we use data to make decisions.
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  Oh, absolutely.
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  Data is everything, right?
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  Right.
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  She really believes that to unlock the potential of AI,
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  you need good data.
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  And it's all about creating this positive feedback loop
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  where AI and data quality actually reinforce each other.
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  So it's not even just about using AI.
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  It's about AI kind of forcing us
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  to get better at data in general.
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  Like a lot of companies,
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  that might seem like a huge undertaking.
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  Yeah, it can be, but she sees it
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  as like this positive challenge.
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  I love this analogy she uses.
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  She says, it's like a rising tide lifts all boats.
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  Right.
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  Even if you're not building like the next chat GPT.
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  Right.
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  Just the fact that there's this focus now
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  on data quality.
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  Yeah.
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  Everyone's gonna benefit from that.
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  It's a good way to look at it.
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  Okay, but here's the question
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  I think is on everybody's mind, right?
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  Like does AI have the power to like totally disrupt
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  business models as we know it?
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  Her answer is basically, it has to.
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  Right.
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  If you think about the investment that's going into this,
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  both in terms of like resources and people,
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  for that investment to make sense,
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  it has to lead to these like fundamental changes
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  in how businesses work.
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  So it's not even just about adopting a new technology.
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  It's about changing how we work, how we think,
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  how we solve problems.
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  Exactly.
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  And she really emphasizes that skill development
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  is gonna be critical for people to,
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  navigate this successfully.
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  Yeah.
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  And it's not just about like coding
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  or understanding algorithms.
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  It's about being adaptable, being able to problem solve,
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  think critically, learn new things
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  as this whole AI landscape changes.
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  And she uses a good analogy to kind of illustrate this point.
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  She talks about how, think about electricity, right?
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  The internet, even mobile phones.
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  Like every time we've had one of these big technological
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  shifts, there's this fear that like,
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  oh, it's gonna be the end of jobs as we know it.
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  But what happens?
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  We adapt.
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  That's right.
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  History repeats itself, right?
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  Yeah.
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  And just like those things led to all sorts of new
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  opportunities and industries and ways of life,
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  AI is gonna do the same thing.
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  Right.
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  It's about finding the opportunity and the disruption,
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  but we gotta acknowledge the elephant in the room here,
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  which is, will AI take our jobs?
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  It's a fair question, right?
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  Like it's the one everyone's wondering about.
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  It is.
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  And Linda actually says, it's an opportunity, not a threat.
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  Instead of thinking about AI taking our jobs,
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  we should be thinking about how we can use AI to,
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  you know, learn new things, specialize.
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  So almost like it's pushing us up the value chain.
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  Exactly.
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  Think about it, like a few years ago,
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  nobody was talking about prompt engineers.
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  And now that's a real job, a high paying job.
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  So AI is creating these new opportunities,
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  even as it changes existing ones.
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  So true.
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  It's like, yeah, some things might become obsolete,
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  but there's gonna be this whole new landscape of jobs
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  that we can't even imagine yet.
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  And Linda actually makes the point that AI could even make
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  our work more enjoyable, which I thought was interesting.
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  It's like, what if it takes over all the boring stuff,
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  the repetitive stuff, and then we get to actually focus
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  on the things that are, you know,
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  more creative, more strategic.
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  Right.
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  Working smarter, not harder.
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  And I think that's a perfect segue into one of our other
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  big points, which is,
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  you gotta have realistic expectations.
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  Okay, so no magic bullets.
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  Right.
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  AI is not gonna solve all your problems overnight.
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  It's a tool, a powerful tool, but it's not a magic wand.
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  Yeah.
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  And to really get the most out of it,
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  you have to be smart about how you use it.
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  So it's about finding those specific use cases, right?
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  Like what problems can AI actually solve for my business,
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  not just jumping on the bandwagon
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  because it's the cool new thing.
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  Exactly.
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  Find the right tool for the job.
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  And that's where she says,
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  experimentation is really important.
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  Don't be afraid to kind of get your hands dirty.
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  Try things out and see what sticks, see what works for you.
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  So if you're listening to this, think about like,
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  what are your biggest pain points at work right now?
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  Could AI be part of that solution?
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  Maybe it's automating something.
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  Maybe it's helping you analyze data better.
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  Maybe it's, you know,
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  personalizing your customer interactions,
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  or even just freeing up your team's time
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  so that they can focus on more strategic stuff.
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  Right, the possibilities are really endless,
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  but you gotta start somewhere.
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  Exactly.
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  And you know, I love how Linda puts it.
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  She says, this AI journey is just beginning
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  and your involvement is crucial.
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  Don't be a bystander.
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  Jump in, ask questions,
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  and you know, really be a part of shaping
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  how this technology is gonna transform our world.
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  It's an exciting time to be in business.
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  It really is.
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  Well, on that note, this has been an awesome deep dive.
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  Thanks for joining us today,
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  and we'll catch you next time
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  for another look beyond the buzzwords.