Why Tobi Lütke’s AI directive is a wake-up call for all of us
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On April 7, Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lütke sent an email to all employees where he laid out his six principles for incorporating AI into all aspects of Shopify's operation. The principle that made the headlines was his directive that, "Before asking for more headcount or resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done without AI.”
In some quarters this was derided as a backdoor way to impose a hiring freeze in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty. That is not how I see it. If you take a closer look at Lütke’s letter and read it thoroughly, you will see a very thoughtful, albeit aggressive, call to action by a forward-thinking CEO. He understands the potential of AI and wants his team to see the new reality.
Lütke lays out six directives:
Using AI is a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify
AI must be part of any new project prototype phase
We will add AI usage questions to our performance and peer review questionnaires
Learning is self-directed, but share what you have learned
Before asking for more headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done without AI
Everyone means everyone
I am not going to dissect all six, but I will comment on a few.
It is a management truism that if you want to change the culture of an organization, you need to address the incentive structure. Lütke puts a stake in the ground here by incorporating AI usage into everyone's performance review; a great move on his part.
Shopify has made significant investments in learning and collaboration tools. Lütke is challenging everyone to use company-provided tools to advance AI in all departments. He is turning everyone into AI trainers.
I believe that the headcount restriction is a good thing. Lütke isn’t saying that Shopify will not hire another human being; he is just raising the bar. And isn't that what we all want? Isn't it intelligence that has moved us from the apes in the opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey to where we are today.
If we have invented artificial intelligence, we need to rise above it with human intelligence. What can we do that a 200,000 GPU neural network can't do? The computers are chasing us and we need to pick up our pace. What better place to start than at work?
We can dig deep and use our powers of creativity, insight, and perception. I don’t believe that an AI bot will have the ability to look into a patient's eyes or listen to their concerns and have that aha moment that inspires a new product or service. What we want is for AI to give us the time to generate more of those aha moments and foster human connection often lost due to the overwhelming burden of administrative tasks.
If you’re skeptical the influence and potential of AI is real, consider that almost one trillion dollars has been invested in AI technology over the past ten years. Do you really want to bet against that?
Rather than waiting for your CEO to email you an AI directive, maybe you should take the hint, skill-up on AI, and incorporate it into your work now rather than later.
