When transformations stall
Lots of organizations are looking to transform themselves around AI. But at its root, effective transformations aren’t about programs or technology — they’re about people and culture. And those are CEO-level problems. This episode of the McKinsey podcast explores five collective action problems and how leaders can overcome them.
Whither middle management?
Much of the job of middle managers entails communication and coordination. Many organizations are betting AI will do the job better, faster, and cheaper. This article suggests they may come to regret shedding their middle-management layer. I don’t agree: AI will make much of what middle managers do today obsolete, but it’ll take longer than most organizations are assuming. (WSJ gift link)
TypeSafe AI manifesto
A new (just-out-of-stealth) startup from a former OpenAI engineer, with an interesting premise: “traditional” LLMs were designed to interact open-endedly with humans. What if a model was designed to only output decisions to be consumed by software? TypeSafe’s proposition: it’ll be much more reliable, cheaper, and faster. Jev, their first model, promises to change how we build AI-powered systems.
How to use LLMs for writing
Writing is central to how we communicate in business. It can be tempting to use an LLM to do it for you. But people can tell right away, which discredits you. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use LLMs for writing — it just means you need to learn to do it right. This post has excellent suggestions, including two easy-to-remember rules. I’ve practiced variations of these rules for a while and they’ve changed the role of LLMs in my writing process. And if you think (as I do) that writing is a way of thinking, you’ll also see how LLMs can help you think better.
The Law of Leaky Abstractions
An oldie-but-goodie: 24 years ago, Joel Spolsky wrote about the dangers inherent in abstracting complexity in systems. Inevitably, abstractions “leak,” leading to unexpected outcomes. LLMs are a kind of abstraction — human language — of complex neural networks. TypeSafe is changing the model (literally) in search of reliability, cost-effectiveness, and speed. Middle management abstracts coordination and tensions; organizations shedding managers are looking to save time and costs. But leaks inevitably get through.