WELCOME TO THE RISE OF HUMANNESS IN THE AGE OF AI: PART 7
A Seven Part Series Where We Explore How to Expand Your Human Value and Superpowers in a World Increasingly Run by Machines. How You Not Only Make Yourself Indispensable but Prevail Over the Bots.
“Once you ask the right questions, solutions follow.” — Albert Einstein
So, this is part where the rubber meets the road. Where we address the elephant sized robot in the room. If The Rise of Humanness is about expanding human value in the age of AI — how exactly do we take human powers to the quantum level?
Zack Kass, an AI Futurist, former Head of GTM at OpenAI, calls this our “Wright Brother’s Moment” where people start looking to the stars — in the same way that the Wright brothers flew a plane and then we went to the Moon 60 years later.
The most profound impact of AI is this: it leads us to ask questions of ourselves as humans in ways that we’ve never had to think about before. And it gives ways to new ideas and solutions that we have never considered.
The speed of this new “Wright Brother’s Moment” is accelerating. We’ve moved from a digital speed to an AI speed, where processes that used to take months or years can now be completed in hours or even minutes.
If we get this right, AI can unlock human capacity at scale — fueling unprecedented innovation and progress. A future where AI enhances human potential and quality of life. But we can’t just watch the future unfold — we must shape it.
As we’ve discussed, job displacement and identity displacement are very real risks, since AI is projected to partially or fully automate up to 80% of jobs by 2030. AI challenges our human value, agency, identity and purpose.
AI’s makes us question everything: It’s both Aladdin’s lamp and Pandora’s box! Will it make us superhuman or super-redundant? Will we live in a dystopia? An existential crisis for humanity where robots charge us rent? Or a utopian future? A “Woodstock” post-scarcity economy with a universal wages and untold abundance where AI does everything.
As our friend and renowned futurist, Mathew Griffin says, “The conversation could shift from what is the future of work to is there a future of work?” Perhaps, there will be an app for finding human identity and meaning in a world where AI takes over purpose in our lives.
So, how do we navigate this new frontier of unprecedented discovery and transformation with both ambition and caution?
No question, AI will result in the biggest productivity increase ever in history. Studies have shown that incorporating AI tools into the workflow can lead to a 40–60% increase in productivity and overall well-being. This is good news in a world with widespread mental health crisis, driven by anxiety, chronic stress and loneliness.
According to Gallup, job unhappiness is at a staggering all-time high. Sixty percent of people reported being emotionally detached at work and 19% as being miserable. Only 33% reported feeling engaged.
On our last Rise of Humanness podcast, Salim Ismail dropped a truth bomb about the nature of work past, present and future — In the last 100 years, we trained human beings to be robots. You acted like a machine. You were on a factory floor, stamping out widgets, and you were measured by how many you could produce and how efficiently you could do it.
Essentially, you were a robot. Creativity was wiped out of that system. But as we move to more human-centered activity, we will be measured on how human we are.
Now the AI bots will replace the robotic work — automating repetitive tasks freeing up time for more complex problem-solving. And giving people more time in their day to do the parts of their jobs they enjoy, to be more creative and ideally lead to increased job satisfaction. With AI, the promise is, we can work smarter, and live larger!
So, there’s a mix of possible futures with AI: We mentioned in the first part of this series how Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, defines Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) as “AI that outperforms humans at all valuable economic work.”
Experts predict its arrival around 2028–2030. Sam Altman of OpenAI is pushing for a 2025. AGI will a potential IQ of 1600, vastly superior learning capabilities and a billion times more general knowledge than any human.
Obviously, this paints a white-knuckled and wide-eyed future where AGI and machines will continue to rise and have a profound impact on the economy, the structure of work and everything, everywhere.
But which brings us to this last chapter in the Rise of Humanness chronicles. How will humans evolve in this increasingly sci-fi automated world, barraged by a ceaseless tsunami of AI and technological advancements?
And what role will training, education and development play in the future of “The Rise of Humanness”? As AI accelerates research and development, how will leaders turbocharge the pace of human potential and evolution across all industries?
THE REAL AI ADVANTAGE: CHARACTER + CULTURE MATTER
Since our documentary, It’s VUCA, The Secret to Living in the 21st Century four years ago, we’ve been working on impacts of the convergence of technology, AI and humanity.
It’s VUCA was based on insights of the brightest minds, visionary authors, industry leaders, military experts, philosophers, and neuroscientists to explore the future of human potential and empowering human preparedness for the age of AI.
It’s VUCA led us to create our VUCA MAX system, which has transformed into a global leadership and development program that’s been implemented by both small entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 100 companies.
What we found is that human character and culture, not AI, is the most important part of engineering the age of AI. And the focus on this aspect of the AI Age is woefully misunderstood, underserved and incomplete.
As we said, people have a linear bias to change based on 300,000 years of evolution and we all have varying degrees of AI adaption or adoption.
Some people may choose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore AI, refusing to adapt to it. Some may embrace AI systems to remove the drudgery of certain tasks, releasing time for more valuable work. Some may find AI creates a flow state and they become hyper focused. Others may get lazier and let AI do the work. As artificial intelligence starts doing things for us… it impacts human character in good and bad ways.
If you want to prepared not just 3 or 5 years from now but in 10- or 20-years’ time, it’s imperative to move to from linear mindsets to exponential leadership and exponential teams and culture. But how do we create an exponential teams and culture. How do we transform to an exponential company?
As Albert Einstein once observed, “Work is what connects man to reality.” So, a high priority must be given to the idea of a purpose-driven economy versus a post-human economy. How are AI tools are going to improve the meaningfulness of people’s lives and work?
Once upon a time, 90% of Americans worked on farms.
LEADERSHIP AND JOBS: HUMAN AUTOMATION, AUGMENTATION OR ASCENDANCE?
John Etchemendy is a philosophy professor, and senior associate dean in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. He co-founded the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) with Dr. Fei Fei Li.
He’s stated that “before the agricultural revolution, approximately 80–90% of people in the United States worked on farms, but now that percentage has decreased to 2–3%.” However, the same amount of farmland is much more productive than it was in the past. He argues that people are not worse off today than they were in the 1890s when a majority of people worked on farms.
It’s important to note: the number of agriculture jobs fell by three-fourths in one human lifetime (1940 to 2020). A lot of this was due to automation — in the form of farm equipment like the tractor. Tractors statistically replaced horses by 1945.
The difference in this AI era is that this is a supernova of change. It’s not just artificial intelligence though; it’s the convergence of over 500 technological revolutions, from quantum computing to fusion energy, coming at us all at once. Imagine the tractor, the printing press, the loom, the steam engine, and electricity — essentially every innovation that defined the Industrial Revolution — hitting simultaneously.
This is where an exponential mindset is mandatory. Back in a more linear 1945, if you were a farm hand looking at the tractor, you might have time to decide on what your next job would be. If you should go back to school and perhaps become the CEO of John Deere. Today, you need to quickly understand what disruptive technology is going to make you redundant tomorrow.
As we’ve shared in previous articles, experts predict that two-thirds of jobs in the United States and Europe could be automated. Job displacement is inevitable as AI becomes more sophisticated — the half-lives of most jobs is 5 years. So, you need to be constantly aware of how to expand your superpowers and propel yourself to the next level.
Dr. Fei Fei Li, the co-founder of Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) reassures us that the impact of job displacement will be task-specific. Which means that workers will still have some time to re-skill to stay relevant in the evolving job market.
But here’s the catch — and it’s a big one: education and adaptation are key to navigating the rapidly changing job market. It’s essential to invest in training programs that equip workers with human-augmented-ascended mindsets and skill sets designed to thrive in an AI-driven world.
“There will be two types of companies by the end of this decade: those that fully embrace AI… and those that are bankrupt.” — Peter Diamandis
While most companies, organizations, and governments fully understand the urgency of implementing digital or AI transformation programs, most have yet to recognize a critical gap: the lack of AI-HI training to expand human potential. Without this, individuals risk being left behind as AI reshapes the workplace.
To adapt and stay relevant in the face of AI-driven job displacement, we need to cultivate future-ready mindsets alongside both solid soft skills and switchable hard skills that enable workers to pivot and thrive in emerging roles.
CLOSING THE MINDSET AND SKILLSET GAP
“Most leaders already understand that focusing on human performance is key to building an organization that can thrive today and tomorrow. But to close the gap between knowing and doing, they will need to let go of the mindsets, operating constructs, and proxies of the past.” — Deloitte, Global Human Capital Trends, 2024
It’s no secret that the gap between what our industrial-age education systems deliver and what today’s world demands is widening at an alarming pace.
The rapid acceleration of change can feel like chasing a high-speed train. To keep up and stay ahead of that train and remain relevant in the future, employers, individuals, and society have to overcome archaic thinking.
The Key Isn’t Just AI Adoption; It’s Human Evolution. The shift to a “Rise of Humanness” mindset requires balanced integration, proactive adaptation and responsible development, focusing on how AI can expand human capabilities and enhance productivity rather than simply replacing workers.
Automation is easy — it’s tactical. But embracing a human-ascended approach is strategic. Automating someone out of your business is a loss. But supercharging employees with AI and HI training? That’s transformative. It can improve productivity by 40% and accelerate learning by 12 times.
Companies can also use AI — HI to identify skill set gaps and identify new opportunities, potential and innovation that lead to a more productive, fulfilling work experience. AIs are helping to train your worst people how to be your best people.
Why More Education and Training is Essential. Education and training are critical to accelerating and amplifying how humans coexist with machines. Building a strong foundation enables us to quickly learn and adapt to emerging technologies and skills — not just to stay ahead of the automation curve, but to augment human capabilities and ascend beyond them.
This isn’t just about reaching the 80/20 AI threshold — it’s about surpassing what we currently understand as 100%, unlocking entirely new realms of opportunity and performance.
And the best part? We don’t need to become cyborgs plugged into Elon Musk’s Neuralink to get there. Uniquely human intelligence, reasoning, and adaptability are powerful enough to propel us into these unexplored heights.
And as we’ve explored in this series, this process demands more education, more training, mentorship, and collaboration. Heightened foundational soft skills, expanding expertise as well as breaking down traditional silos and fostering purposeful presence.
Not to mention, as companies continue to automate with AI agents and robots to reduce costs, drive revenues, and boost profits, an over-reliance on AI — without a balance of HI — can lead to inherited biases, hallucinations, and misleading outcomes. Again, education is crucial to fully understand AI — this strange, alien intelligence that we’re rapidly embedding into our companies and lives.
Unfortunately, while companies are investing 98% in digital and AI programs, they often lack a dedicated human intelligence plan to transform mindsets and skill sets. This may account for the fact that despite all the statistics on the positive effects of AI., only 10% of companies are finding real adoption and success.
In the VUCA MAX SYSTEM, we dive deep into the critical knowledge and soft skills essential for navigating this new landscape. It’s a battle tested, future proof program that delivers what it takes to not just survive the future, but to thrive in it.
It’s designed not just keep up with the future — but stay ahead of it.
THE RISE OF HUMANNESS : VUCA MAX LEADERSHIP AND SELF DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
Buckle up, because if you thought 2025 was going to move fast, just wait till AI starts talking to AI. To keep up, you’ll need to stay curious, while staying human and dive deeper into the four pillars of AI HI implementation that will revolutionize your mindset, skills, and organization.
The VUCA MAX Generative AI HI Value-Creation Pyramid is a robust framework for achieving not only AI-human augmentation but also AI-human ascendence, leading to “The Rise of Humanness”. It’s the next step in what Deloitte calls reimagining “boundaryless work and human exponentiality” — which is no longer hypothetical — or optional.
Its designed to be at the intersection of visionary leadership, Individual character (future mindsets, soft-skillsets, well-beings) , exponential culture (giving your teams a massive transformative purpose, moonshots, and the tools of superhuman potential) and then finally there’s AI and new technologies — how to use these new tools to scale, streamline operations, improve or increase market share, drive up revenues and increase profits and productivity.
In this program, we prioritize human (HI) outcomes first by moving past the industrial-era mindsets that view the worker as a box on the organization chart, a cog in the process — to creating shared value for workers, organizations, and the communities in which they operate with a “Purposeful presence.” This process not only drives better human outcomes, but better business outcomes, and creates a mutually reinforcing cycle.
This combination of Human Intelligence (HI), AI and business outcomes is what we call “The Rise of Humanness:” the ultimate collaboration between humans and AI. It really is human capital, more than AI assets, that truly drives business performance to both shape and adapt to the ever-evolving future of work.
A focus on the human factor is emerging as the bridge between knowing what shifts are shaping the future of work and doing things to make real progress toward putting them into action to create positive outcomes.
The four pillars address key aspects of this transformation:
The importance of combining human intelligence and artificial intelligence to maximize ROI — HI+AI=ROI.
The VUCA MAX Generative AI HI Value-Creation Pyramid:
1. Of course, we start with “VISIONARY INNOVATION”. This is the foundational leadership pillar that lays the groundwork for ascendence by encouraging a future-oriented mindset in your culture and emphasizes human values. It goes from “knowing” — to being and doing. It levels up your leadership! It includes a focus: Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP), Moonshots, Conscious Leadership, Strategic Foresight/Future Back Thinking, and Exponential Empathy.
2. Next, we focus on “THE EXPONENTIAL INDIVIDUAL”. We unlock your full potential with foundational HI soft skills that’ll make you an unstoppable rockstar in an AI-driven world. As AI continues to make inroads into specialized domains, eroding the value of narrow expertise, a new paradigm is emerging — one that places a premium on the Exponential Individual to be an Expert Generalist. We’re talking about amping uniquely human qualities: Conscious Leadership, Antifragile Resilience, Vertical Learning, and Flow that give us ability to connect with others on a human level. Expert Generalists also require a wide foundation of AI knowledge and skills across multiple disciplines — allowing AI and humans to exponentially skyrocket together.
3. The next tier is “COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE”: There are three steps here: 1) Build Shared Team Understanding of AI and HI. By fostering co-creative relationships and a common understanding of both AI and human intelligence, organizations achieve a more cohesive and effective work environment where everyone understands the value of AI and each other’s contributions. By equipping individuals with a basic understanding of AI, organizations can demystify the technology and empower employees to engage with it more effectively. 2) We integrate AI as a true team member, designing people-first practices, microcultures, and cross-functional digital spaces that prioritize human outcomes. This creates a collaborative environment where humans and AI thrive together, unlocking a collective superpower called “Synchrony”. Research shows that AI can help bring more people into a flow state, enabling employees to ideate faster, solve complex problems creatively, and supercharge productivity and decision-making. 3) Hero-archies vs. Hierarchies’. This “Everybody is a Hero” structure promotes shared leadership and empowers individuals to contribute their expertise, regardless of their position. It fosters “Purposeful Presence” and Exponential Empathy, creating genuine value in the importance of human skills.
4. TRANSFORMATION, SCALE, AND GROWTH: Once you implement AI and HI principles to drive organizational transformation, we can reimagine core work processes and workflows to embrace AI’s potential to transform workflows and unlock new forms of value creation. At this stage, you’re an Exponential enterprise, ready to achieve quicker, measurable wins by demonstrating the tangible benefits of AI-human collaboration, fostering buy-in, and encouraging further exploration of AI’s potential. In this stage, we employ “Kaizen: Continuous Improvement” and Innovation and Strategic Foresight/Future Back Thinking to foster a culture of constant evolution and adaptation, essential for navigating a rapidly changing AI landscape. With this enhanced operational and employee/Customer Value, your organizations can “adapt at speed” and “learn at speed.” You’re a force to be reckoned with.
THE PATH FORWARD: 2025 — THE GREAT HUMAN TRANSFORMATION:
As Shelly Palmer, LinkedIn’s #1 Top Voice on Technology, puts it: “The great AI transformation of 2025 won’t be about technology — it will be about leadership.”
As we mentioned in Part 1, Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends research reinforces this, emphasizing that prioritizing human exponentiality and sustainability is the bridge between understanding the shifts shaping the future of work and taking meaningful action. Organizations must create value for people as humans — enhancing health, well-being, skills, employability, equity, and opportunity.
This is how humans win. Today, you can leverage AI to realize your vision, desires, and creativity at a speed and scale unimaginable just a year ago, unlocking possibilities once reserved for science fiction. You have the of entirety of human knowledge, the insights of the world’s greatest experts, and the vast history of mankind — all accessible in the palm of your hand.
By prioritizing human-centric values, we forge a bold and transformative roadmap that harnesses the full potential of AI to ignite The Rise of Humanness — empowering individuals, organizations, and societies to thrive in ways never before imagined.
This approach not only enables AI-human augmentation but also sets the stage for a new dawn of human ascendence and transcendence. It’s our “Wright Brothers Moment” — a time to soar at warp speed into uncharted realms of discovery, answering mankind’s greatest questions, solving the world’s most critical problems, and redefining what it means to be human.
Stay curious. Stay human. Let’s rise to meet the moment.
Let’s shape the future — together.
If you’d like a more detailed exploration of our signature VUCA MAX Leadership and Coaching System for Expanding Human Value in the Age of AI, book a call here with Mike Schindler. Or go to www.itsvucamax.com.
JOIN THE PODCAST AND GET THE BOOK:
Tune into our podcast, The Rise of Humanness: Beating the Bots. premiering on Spotify, Apple and YouTube January 15th. Where we explore the huge knowledge gap of exactly how humans will fit into an AI-driven world. Our show is all about turning fear into empowerment, shifting the AI narrative, and spotlighting our uniquely human superpowers — where Human Intelligence (HI) doesn’t just coexist but thrives alongside AI.
The Rise of Humanness: The VUCA MAX System for Expanding Human Value in the Age of AI
And grab our book, The Rise of Humanness: The VUCA MAX System for Expanding Human Value in the Age of AI focused on amplifying our essential human superpowers and soft skills that are essential in our future AI machine-driven world.
ABOUT CHRIS NOLAN, MIKE SCHINDER AND VUCA MAX
Chris Nolan and Mike Schindler are business consultants, content creators, lecturers, futurists and teachers in this Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world, driven by Massive Accelerating Exponential (MAX) change, technology and AI.
They have consulted for hundreds of organizations, from startups to Fortune 500 companies such as Google and Disney. Their signature VUCA MAX leadership and coaching program, www.itsvucamax.com, has played a pivotal role in educating global audiences, companies, brands and individuals to strengthen their conscious leadership, antifragile resilience, strategic foresight, exponential innovation and courage in the Age of AI.
They are leading voices in understanding how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping our world. Their groundbreaking documentary It’s VUCA: The Secret to Living in the 21st Century featured 17 of the world’s greatest thought leaders. Their film, Look Up Now: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Humanity features futurists, Gerd Leonhard one the world’s foremost experts in on humanizing AI.
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