Adopting AI: The People-first Approach

"Few books so artfully blend the optimism of Kurzweil with the caution of Bostrom with the pragmatism of Mollick." — Linus Caldwell, Alphaverse Capital One of the 2025 "AI Books of the Year" In classical Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity before being damned for all eternity. The moral of the story: the gift of scientific progress and technology is a double-edged sword. If the hype is to be believed, humanity is on the cusp of a technological breakthrough of Promethean impact: Artificial Intelligence. Google’s Sundar Pichai claims that the impact of AI will be "more profound than fire and electricity." Critics, however, are divided on the prospects. Will AI bring about a techno-capitalist utopia where scarcity is eradicated, disease and aging are conquered, and the deepest mysteries of the universe finally revealed? Or will it create a dystopia familiar from countless science fiction classics: The Matrix, Terminator, or 2001: A Space Odyssey? Where do we stand on the knife-edge? Adopting AI starts with seven scenarios, ranging from catastrophic collapse to utopian abundance. The authors invite you to assess where you think humanity is heading—and argue that the destination isn't predetermined by algorithms, but by the choices we make today. Paradoxically, the more powerful the technology, the more important human reason and moral judgment become. Not Just a Tech Book—A Handbook for Human Intelligence Gibbons and Healy argue that successfully adopting AI means recognizing it not as a tool, but as an intelligence: the smartest, dumbest, strangest colleague you’ve ever had. The principles for People-First AI Adoption flow from the fundamental nature of the technology: unpredictable, opaque, and prone to bias. Adopting such intelligence requires a bottom-up, experimental approach the authors call adaptive adoption. Inside, you will discover: The Intelligence Transition: A roadmap for executives and leaders to navigate the shift from human-only to hybrid workforces. Beyond the Hype: A panoramic tour of AI’s potential uses (and abuses), from the office cubicle to the courtroom, the science lab to the artist’s studio. Ethics at the Center: Why "People-First" isn't just a slogan, but the only viable strategy for long-term survival. Gibbons and Healy tread a fine line between hope and despair, neither sugarcoating the risks nor underplaying the transformational opportunities. Above all, Adopting AI is a practical handbook for navigating the intelligence transition—essential reading for executives, organizational leaders, citizens, and parents following the Promethean path into our shared future.