AI Reality Check: Where We Are Now
This week I attended AI Portland's first ‘conference,’ the AI Launchpad event, it was excellent - execution, networking and content. A lot was covered with deep and practical takeaways, but it wasn't overwhelmingly dense. It was the first time I've been in community IRL with people looking past the hype and ready to move forward with purposeful AI approaches. I have been buzzing since.
One thing became clear: we're figuring this out, and that's exactly where we should be.
Beyond the Hype Cycle
We've moved past the peak of inflated expectations around AI and into the trough of disillusionment. This isn't a bad place to be. It's where the actual work happens. The endless headlines about AI everything taking over have given way to something more useful, shifting focus to where this technology actually fits in our work and lives, allowing us to rethink our role in this evolution, redefining work, and what is meaningful.
The Right Mental Model
This analogy makes sense: Think of AI as a highly qualified but inexperienced intern.
Great at somethings - content, but it lacks context, judgment, and the “squishy” human understanding that makes things actually work. AI can help us move faster, but it can't tell us where we should be going.
This is a tool, it should be used to enhance your unique voice and strategic thinking, but lacks taste and discernment. This is why we need a human in the loop, providing QA, gut checks, fact checks. We're the strategic minds deciding what problems are worth solving in the first place.
This isn't about AI replacing unique human creativity, qualities or thoughts. As Ethan Mollick says, "the value isn't in surrendering control, but from finding the right points of collaboration." We are in an experiential phase, let's explore, play, and discover.
The Adoption Reality
Jordan Plawner reminded us that roughly a hundred years ago, people were very confused about cars, or "horseless carriages." Where was the coachman, how could someone not be sitting outside leading the coach? Now we can hardly imagine driving another way. (cue Waymo)…
Here's what's actually happening: 50-80% of AI projects fail to deliver business value. As a PM, this is scary. But it's not because the technology doesn't work, organizations aren't prepared to incorporate it into their processes and workflows.
These aren't AI problems. They're people problems.
AI adoption is happening at half the speed of previous major tools, and there's a reason: we're not just learning new software or technology, we're rethinking the nature of work and human value.
What This Means Right Now
AI is a cognition tool that will get better with time. It's pattern matching at scale, not human intelligence. But here's what that actually means for how we work:
It amplifies what you already do. Your unique voice, strategic thinking, ability to see connections that matter. AI helps you do more of that, faster.
It reveals what work actually matters. When AI handles routine processing, what's left requires human intelligence. I have been telling my small business owners and founders for the past 8+ years: delegate what you can't do (admin, sales, HR, finance, content) so you can focus on what only you can do, what you do best. AI is here to help. Leverage this.
It changes the value equation. Skills that took years to develop can now be automated. The premium shifts to wisdom, taste, and asking the right questions. What else should I be thinking about? More outside-the-box thought. Vision, ideas. If we can execute ideas more quickly, we need to come up with more ideas!
Moving Forward
We're in a moment of rupture, a break in how we understand intelligence, competence, and what it means to contribute value. The mirror AI holds up reflects years of human thinking patterns, but it also shows us what makes us distinctly human.
The question isn't whether AI will change how we work. It already has. The question is whether we'll be intentional about how we evolve with it.
This is the foundation. Next, we'll explore the frameworks for actually integrating AI as a strategic tool, because while there may be no "AI strategy," there are definitely better and worse ways to make this technology work for you.