I know everyone is talking about AI.
But often, the discussion quickly shifts to productivity. And it sounds like this:
“I created a ticket and AI implemented it.” “Now we can deliver more tickets.” “If we deliver more tickets, how much cost can we reduce?” “Do we really need all those people?”
Yeah. Speed is useful. Efficiency matters.
But the deeper I get into integrating AI into real workflows, the more I feel we’re asking the wrong question.
The question is not: “How can we do more work?”
A better question is: “What kind of work deserves to be done?”
Thinking Is Becoming Expensive as Execution Gets Cheaper
AI makes output cheap.
Execution, once a constraint, becomes cheap. Almost trivial.
And when something becomes cheaper, its value changes.
Humans can’t compete with machines on speed.
So we must focus on what machines can’t meaningfully own:
Not more activity. Better judgment.
Productivity Is Moving Upstream
For years, productivity lived downstream — shipping features, closing tasks, delivering artifacts.
But AI now handles much of that execution layer.
So human productivity shifts upstream:
- Choosing the right problems
- Framing challenges correctly
- Defining success clearly
- Understanding constraints
- Evaluating tradeoffs
If the problem is wrong, faster execution just gets you to the wrong place sooner.
The Most Valuable Work Is Often Invisible
Real value rarely appears in metrics:
- Saying “Hey — this is not the right problem”
- Removing unnecessary complexity
- Clarifying ambiguous goals
- Anticipating second-order effects
- Connecting decisions across teams
These actions don’t produce artifacts. They produce coherence.
And coherence keeps systems from collapsing under their own weight.
AI Alone Doesn’t Improve Productivity
AI-driven productivity gains tend to appear only when organizations redesign how they work.
If incentives stay the same… If metrics still reward activity over outcomes…
Faster tools simply amplify old mistakes.
AI is a multiplier.
- If systems prioritize speed → we get faster noise
- If systems prioritize clarity → we get amplified insight
AI doesn’t decide what matters. WE do.
A Powerful Shift
Before AI, being productive meant being efficient with effort.
After AI, being productive means being intentional with attention.
Effort scales. Attention doesn’t.
And attention determines direction.
Pause and ask:
“What kind of work becomes more valuable when speed is no longer scarce?”
That’s where human contribution evolves.
That’s where real productivity lives.