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Cognitive migration is underway. The station is crowded. Some have boarded while others hesitate, unsure whether the destination justifies the departure.
Future of work expert and Harvard University Professor Christopher Stanton commented recently that the uptake of AI has been tremendous and observed that it is an “extraordinarily fast-diffusing technology.” That speed of adoption and impact is a critical part of what differentiates the AI revolution from previous technology-led transformations, like the PC and the internet. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, went further, predicting that AI could be “10 times bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and maybe 10 times faster.”
Intelligence, or at least thinking, is increasingly shared between people and machines. Some people have begun to regularly use AI in their workflows. Others have gone further, integrating it into their cognitive routines and creative identities. These are the “willing,” including the consultants fluent in prompt design, the product managers retooling systems and those building their own businesses that do everything from coding to product design to marketing.
For them, the terrain feels new but navigable. Exciting, even. But for many others, this moment feels strange, and more than a little unsettling. The risk they face is not just being left behind. It is not knowing how, when and whether to invest in AI, a future that seems highly uncertain, and one that is difficult to imagine their place in. That is the double risk of AI readiness, and it is reshaping how people interpret the pace, promises and pressure of this transition.
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Is it real?
Across industries, new roles and teams are forming, and AI tools are reshaping workflows faster than norms or strategies can keep up. But the significance is still hazy, the strategies unclear. The end game, if there is one, remains uncertain. Yet the pace and scope of change feels portentous. Everyone is being told to adapt, but few know exactly what that means or how far the changes will go. Some AI industry leaders claim huge changes are coming, and soon, with superintelligent machines emerging possibly within a few years.
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