The AI Dilemma: Smarter or Weaker?
Five Urgent AI Challenges Facing Business, Workers, and Society
AI is reshaping our world at an unprecedented pace—but are we prepared for the consequences? As we step into Spring 2025, recent research highlights five critical AI challenges that business leaders, workers, and marketers must confront—from cognitive decline due to AI dependence to workforce shifts, layoffs, and the slow adoption of AI in marketing.
With companies like The New York Times leading the way in thoughtful AI integration, the question remains: will others adapt or be left behind? Explore the full analysis to understand what’s at stake in the AI era and the five key concerns that demand urgent discussion and action—whether you're a business leader or a concerned citizen.
1. AI Dependency Is Making Us Less Intelligent
Recent research from Carnegie Mellon and Microsoft Research suggests that over-reliance on AI may be diminishing human cognitive abilities. Just as outsourcing physical labor to machines reshaped our relationship with manual work, outsourcing thinking to AI could weaken problem-solving skills, critical reasoning, and memory retention. A study of 319 knowledge workers found that with the use of GenAI, the nature of thinking shifts toward information verification, response integration, and task stewardship instead.
AI should function as a thought partner—an "exoskeleton" for our minds—enhancing, not replacing or limiting, human intelligence. However, as AI systems become more capable, there’s a risk of surrendering too much intellectual autonomy. The challenge is to maintain an active role in thinking while leveraging AI as a tool rather than a crutch.
I use AI tools dozens of times a day for both professional and personal reasons. Does that mean I write less, conduct less analysis, and rely less on my own judgment? Absolutely. But when I do need to take control, I like to believe (maybe naively) I can step in and handle the toughest decisions-mostly successfully-because I bring my lived experiences and decades of making every decision for myself (think 10,000 hours of expertise). The next generation may not have that advantage unless we carefully consider how and where AI fits into our lives.
2. AI-Driven Productivity Gains Reshaping the Workforce
Generative AI adoption in the workplace has skyrocketed. An important research report shows that 30% of employees use AI at work, with a third relying on it daily. This trend is most common among younger, more educated, and higher-income workers’ unsurprisingly, in roles like customer service, marketing, and information technology. The 39-page report from researchers at Stanford and George Mason University explores the long-term impacts of these shifts on the labor market. It’s no surprise that productivity gains have tripled in some functions, with more likely to follow, fundamentally reshaping workflows and efficiency expectations. I may be accused of being an AI doomer, but with good reason-the changing role of humans in the AI era is real, and we’re better off accepting these changes rather than denying them.
This level of productivity raises important questions: How does a workforce evolve when AI amplifies human output? Do organizations need fewer employees, or should they focus on redefining roles and skills? The shift is inevitable, but leaders must navigate it carefully-prioritizing upskilling, job redesign, and innovation to minimize displacement. Most importantly, organizations should start by establishing clear policies, creating sandboxes, giving access to tools and educating their teams, using a structured framework to guide employees into this future. These are all topics I explore extensively in my book.
For better or worse, the new administration has already made its stance clear: it believes far fewer people are needed in the federal government. Similarly, tech giants are cutting headcount while maximizing profits and revenue. What started as a one-time strategy at Twitter under Elon Musk quickly spread across Silicon Valley and is now making its way through Corporate America. As companies reassess headcount and push for higher performance through AI, the real question is whether they are also investing enough in training and upskilling their workforce. This topic warrants further analysis.
3. Performance-Driven Layoffs & Workplace Dynamics
Meta recently laid off employees for "performance reasons," but many argue that performance wasn’t the true driver as some of the employees laid off had gotten glowing reviews. Instead, these layoffs may signal a deeper shift in workplace power dynamics. In an era of hyper-productivity—accelerated by AI and automation—companies increasingly wield efficiency as a tool for control, often sidelining long term business interests, human empathy, and common sense in the process.
This shift is exacerbated by decision-making that leans on what some have called masculine energy leadership traits—favoring speed, authority, and cost-cutting over collaboration and long-term investment in people. As AI-driven efficiency gains momentum, organizations face a pivotal choice: Will they harness AI to enhance human potential putting people first in the AI era as I’ve discussed over the last year, or will they use it primarily to enforce authority, reduce headcount, and “send messages” to employees? If they choose the latter, the long-term consequences could be toxic for workplace culture.
Meta’s recent history illustrates this tension. Over the past two years, the company has laid off roughly 20,000 employees—about a quarter of its workforce—despite significant increases in both profits and revenue. On one hand, Meta needs to free up capital for AI research, including costly data centers and salaries for top AI talent. However, the speed and severity of these layoffs underscore a growing dilemma for corporations: Should they prioritize harsh, immediate cuts to fund AI innovation, or should they take a more measured approach—upskilling, redeploying, and managing workforce transitions with greater sensitivity?
The federal government, through the Department of Governmental Efficiency, has signaled where it stands on this issue. The question now is whether Corporate America will follow suit— doubling down on a model where AI-driven efficiency comes at the cost of human dignity and the importance of putting humans first in the AI Era.
4. Marketing Teams Lagging in AI-Driven Transformation
Marketing should be at the forefront of AI transformation, yet many teams are struggling to keep up. The reason? Their day-to-day responsibilities—executing campaigns, generating leads, and managing brand reputation—leave little room for driving transformation. Marketers are stretched thin, constantly under pressure to deliver results in a matter of hours, days and weeks, making it difficult to step back and rethink how AI could fundamentally reshape their function.
For example, AI has the potential to revolutionize marketing by automating personalization, content creation, media planning and buying, and customer insights. But that potential can only be realized if marketers have the time and space to learn, experiment, and drive change. Right now, they don’t. The risk is that while other business functions advance in AI adoption because many of them don’t deal with the same short term pressures, marketing lags behind—diminishing its ability to shape the future of customer engagement and how its business operates. Marketers must become more technical and proactive, but companies also need to invest in their development and create an environment where AI adoption is a strategic priority, not an afterthought.
There’s a lesson to be learned from how The New York Times is integrating AI into its newsroom. Instead of focusing solely on what AI shouldn’t be used for, the media company has introduced clear guidelines on when and how AI can enhance editorial work. This shift reflects a broader reality: AI isn’t something to fear or ignore—it’s a tool to be harnessed thoughtfully and immediately.
Under the new policy, newsroom staff receive AI training and gain access to approved tools for specific tasks, such as editing, summarizing information, coding, and writing. Employees are encouraged to use AI for generating SEO-friendly headlines, crafting social media copy, and even suggesting interview questions for reporters. However, strict guidelines ensure AI isn’t used to draft entire articles, manipulate content, or circumvent ethical standards. Most critically, the responsibility for all AI-assisted work remains with the journalists themselves.
Alongside its proprietary AI tool, Echo (an in-house beta summarization tool to allow journalists to condense Times articles, briefings, and interactives), The Times has also approved GitHub Copilot for programming, Google Vertex AI for product development, and a selection of AI-powered tools from OpenAI and Amazon. The underlying message is clear: AI is being integrated with intention, ensuring it enhances human expertise rather than replacing it.
This raises an urgent question for marketing leaders: Are you actively training your teams on AI? Are you establishing clear guidelines on how and when AI should be used to drive efficiency and creativity? Are you providing concrete examples—such as using AI to enhance press release writing or optimize SEO articles? If not, you risk falling behind. The companies that embrace AI strategically—not just as a buzzword, but as a fundamental capability—will be the ones leading the next era of marketing. But to make that happen, they need CEOs who support them—and not all will.
5. Lack of Awareness Around Transformation
AI transformation isn’t just about technology—it requires structured change management. Yet too many organizations overlook the importance of following a clear, strategic framework, such as the four-part frameworks that I outlined in my book. Without this kind of structured guidance, companies risk fragmented AI adoption, resistance to change, and missed opportunities for innovation.
Leaders must take their organizations on a deliberate journey, ensuring that AI integration is thoughtful, strategic, and sustainable. A crucial part of this transformation—one that Marketing can and should own—is shifting the way AI is perceived and discussed within its industry. And this is where my frustration lies.
AI is already reshaping Marketing across Corporate America, as well as within the advertising agencies, mar-tech firms, and technology platforms that support them. That much is obvious. But despite this rapid change, a troubling pattern is emerging: no one wants to talk about it. The Super Bowl, the biggest stage for marketing innovation, made this abundantly clear. Few—if any—marketers were willing to publicly acknowledge how they used AI in their campaigns. Agencies were even more tight-lipped. In the most ironic example of all, OpenAI aired a Super Bowl ad chose not to use AI much in its ad creation - and as a I have discussed was a missed opportunity.
This silence is unfortunate. I understand the concerns—advertisers fear backlash from the creative community, worried that openly embracing AI will spark controversy. But refusing to acknowledge AI’s role doesn’t serve anyone. It doesn’t help marketers, their companies, or the industry at large. AI’s biggest challenge isn’t that it’s coming or that it may replace some jobs—it’s that the revolution is happening behind closed doors when it should be out in the open so that we can learn from one another.
We have so much to learn about embracing and managing this transformation. AI is as fundamental to our era as the discovery of fire—reshaping what’s possible and already transforming marketing, not to mention the broader world. Hiding these changes and missing the opportunity to learn from each other’s mistakes would be a disservice to our teams, organizations, and profession. Let’s not make that mistake. And for those quick to criticize AI’s role in marketing—let’s take a step back. This moment is bigger than individual debates; it’s about navigating an era of massive transformation together to ensure people remain at the center of it.
Final Thoughts
AI isn’t just a technology—it’s a force reshaping intelligence, productivity, power dynamics, marketing strategy, and business transformation. While its potential is immense, so are the risks of mismanagement, over-reliance, and unintended consequences, especially as technology and politics become increasingly intertwined.
As we step into spring 2025, the challenge isn’t just adopting AI—it’s adopting it wisely. Organizations and individuals must stay proactive, ensuring AI enhances human intelligence rather than replacing it. And for marketers, it may be time to take a few lessons from the likes of The New York Times. It wouldn’t be the first time.
I’m excited to share some news. Hot on the heels of our partnership with Adweek for the AI Trailblazers Power 100—thank you for your nominations—AI Trailblazers is thrilled to announce a second partnership with HumanX, the premier AI conference taking place between March 9-13, 2025 at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
The conference will feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including Vice President Kamala Harris; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer at OpenAI; Sridhar Ramaswamy, CEO of Snowflake; Thomas Wolf, Chief Science Officer at Hugging Face; and Jae Evans, Global CIO at Oracle. On the fourth day, AI Trailblazers will host the AI Trailblazers Agent Summit. If you're interested in participating to learn everything you need to know about AI Agents, reach out—guests can access discounted tickets to the main conference. Attendance at the AI Trailblazers Agent Summit is free but requires registration approval.
Where I’ve been
Marketing with AI for Dummies continues to gain attention, opening doors for speaking engagements and advisory opportunities centered on AI education, inspiration, and marketing strategy.
In the past few weeks alone, I’ve spoken to three corporations and recently delivered a more public hour-long talk for the AI Marketers Guild as well. If you would like to partner —whether for a speaking event, team education, or strategic planning—don’t hesitate to reach out.
What I’m reading
Brain OS and the (Re)evolution of Human Intelligence (tether.io)
The top 50 genAI use cases in marketing (Martech)
What I’ve written lately
Can the Super Bowl change Search? (February 2025)
AI Tsunami: Are You Falling Behind? (January 2025)
2025 AI Predictions You Can’t Afford to Miss (January 2025)
Fires & Falsehoods: A Tale of Two Crises (January 2025)
Omnicom’s Big Move, Brand Clarity, & Looking Ahead (December 2024)
