Year-End Reflection: AI, Change, and What We Choose to Optimize For
As the year wraps up, I have noticed a lot of fear-driven posts on social media and messages about AI. I have also had a few people reach out asking what I think. So here is my honest reflection.
Big technology shifts are not new.
Assembly lines reshaped manufacturing.
Cars transformed cities and work.
Phones rewired how we communicate.
Computers and the internet changed how information, services, and entire industries operate.
Each time, work evolved, roles changed, and society eventually adapted.
What is different this time is the pace.
AI is compressing cognitive and creative tasks much faster than previous technologies changed physical labor. That speed matters. When change happens faster than institutions, education systems, and labor markets can adapt, fear fills the gap, often before we have even clarified what we are trying to achieve.
The opportunity.
I keep coming back to the idea that the real opportunity here is improvement, not replacement, if we are intentional about it.
In education, imagine teachers spending less time delivering one-size-fits-all lessons and more time supporting individual student needs. AI could help tailor practice, identify gaps early, and free teachers to focus on mentoring, critical thinking, and social development, with teachers always making the final calls.
In healthcare, it could mean clinicians supported by better triage, documentation, and longitudinal insight, so care shifts from reacting to isolated problems toward whole-person health, prevention, and continuity. Humans remain in the loop for judgment and accountability.
In public services, it could help caseworkers manage complexity better, spot patterns earlier, and spend more time helping people navigate systems rather than fighting paperwork.
Even in business, the upside is not fewer people. It is people focusing more on judgment, creativity, and relationships while routine coordination and analysis run in the background. This allows organizations to leverage the staff they already have to grow, enter new markets, and accelerate progress.
Leadership Is Critical in times of Change.
Whether this transition is positive or destabilizing will depend far less on the technology itself and far more on how leaders govern it.
Corporate and government governance matter enormously right now.
Clear intent about why AI is being used
Transparency about where it is and is not appropriate
Investment in people alongside tools
Human accountability for decisions
Designing change with culture, trust, and long-term outcomes in mind
When those elements are missing, fear is rational. When goals are unclear and communication is poor, people assume the worst, often with good reason.
My optimism is not blind. It is conditional.
If we guide this deliberately, with clear intent and strong governance, AI can expand human capacity and improve outcomes across society. If we chase short-term efficiency without thinking through second-order effects, we risk creating instability we did not need to.
We have always adapted to new technology. The challenge now is doing it consciously, at a speed that does not leave people behind.
That is the balance I am hoping we get right.
