7 July

July 07, 2025

“AI should preserve and amplify human agency, not replace it.” — Yoshua Bengio

Accelerating into the 21st century

We are now closer to 2050 than 2000, and to 2100 than 1950. It is understandable that most leaders are grappling with the issues disrupting and enabling their companies and industries this year and next. But that change will rapidly be compounded in the years beyond.

Much of my work this year has been with boards and executive teams framing the impact and potential of AI, the evolution of work, and the future of their industries. Here is an overview of some of the leadership sessions where I am experiencing the most demand.

We have choices to make and proactively take to maintain agency in this world. A few thoughts on how we can do that below.

Have a great week!

Ross

 

📖In this issue

  • Essay: Choosing how AI shapes us

  • The rise of AI in professional services

  • Developing the skills to work with AI agents

  • The difference between high and low AI maturity companies

  • Implications: Cloudflare’s ‘Pay per Crawl’

💡Essay: Choosing how AI shapes us 

We change through every interaction we have., whether human or AI. Many are worried about the cognitive and emotional impact of engaging with AI. But here's the thing: we are always - if we choose - in control.

🧠🤖Humans + AI

The rise of AI in professional services

There is perhaps no industry more fundamentally disrupted by AI than professional services. Here are some of the top insights in the excellent new ThomsonReuters Future of Professionals Report, drawing on a survey of over 2,000 professionals globally.

Developing the skills to work with AI agents

A new KPMG report on AI uptake examines what companies are doing to develop skills and capabilities for working with AI agents. I share some reflections on these and where the opportunities lie.

 

The difference between high and low AI maturity companies

Some teling insights in this Gartner survey distinguishing how high and low AI maturity companies approach AI adoption and the different outcomes they get.

↗️Implications: Cloudflare’s ‘Pay per Crawl’

A few structured thoughts on what might come out of Cloudflare’s launch of ‘Pay per Crawl’ to allow publishers to apply payments for AI companies wanting to use their content for training data.

Thanks for reading!

Ross Dawson and team