Good morning. Artificial intelligence is redefining the workplace, and corporate jobs aren’t excluded from its reach.
As companies shift from the hype phase to the adoption phase of AI, they’re seeing productivity gains, O’Brien said. But she noted that companies must address a critical question: What are they doing with the time AI saves?
For leaders, the promise of AI goes far beyond efficiency—it should free time for strategic thinking and innovation, she said. It’s also an opportunity to double down on skills like emotional intelligence, which is widely considered one of the core human abilities that AI cannot truly replace, she added.
“The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it’s not even really AI-driven—not right now, at least,” Jassy said of the job cuts. “It’s culture.”
Fortune’s Eva Roytburg highlights that Galetti mentioned in the company memo that this generation of AI is a “transformative technology” and that the company needs to be organized more leanly—with fewer layers and more ownership—to move as quickly as possible.
AI may not necessarily take your job—but someone who knows how to use AI better than you might, O’Brien warned during the panel session in Riyadh. The takeaway: upskilling and reskilling aren’t just for those in non-corporate positions—they’re essential at every level of the organization.
What’s helping you keep your AI skills sharp? I’d love to hear from you—send me an email.
