Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

Bookmark: Goodbye digital transformation, hello AI-first business transformation

Bookmark: Goodbye digital transformation, hello AI-first business transformation
Embrace AI-first transformation to innovate and streamline business operations, breaking down silos and enhancing decision-making for exponential growth.

A fitting quote from the article is: “AI is pushing for reinvention, innovation, and the exploration of the art of the possible.”
Goodbye digital transformation, hello AI-first business transformation

The article discusses the transition from digital transformation to AI-first business transformation. It argues that the digital transformation approach primarily focused on digitalizing existing models rather than fundamentally transforming business paradigms. Many companies digitized legacy processes, which led to complexity and silos rather than true transformation. The emergence of AI offers a new opportunity to genuinely transform businesses by making processes more efficient and rethinking operations in an AI-centric manner. Unlike the digital revolution that often reinforced inefficiencies, AI demands a reevaluation of how businesses operate and measure success. It necessitates breaking down silos and creating interconnected systems where intelligence flows across functions, enhancing decision-making and unlocking new efficiencies. This transformation requires integrating AI to not only automate but also augment capabilities, moving towards a connected enterprise where AI helps orchestrate workflows and drive strategic impacts. Ultimately, the shift involves adopting a mindset that embraces AI as a core element of business operations, leading to exponential growth and innovation.


Featured writing

Why customer tools are organized wrong

This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how customer support tools are designed—organizing by interaction type instead of by customer—and explains why this fragmentation wastes time and obscures the full picture you need to help users effectively.

Infrastructure shapes thought

The tools you build determine what kinds of thinking become possible. On infrastructure, friction, and building deliberately for thought rather than just throughput.

Server-Side Dashboard Architecture: Why Moving Data Fetching Off the Browser Changes Everything

How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.

Books

The Work of Being (in progress)

A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.

The Practice of Work (in progress)

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

Recent writing

We always panic about new tools (and we're always wrong)

Every time a new tool emerges for making or manipulating symbols, we panic. The pattern is so consistent it's almost embarrassing. Here's what happened each time.

Dev reflection - February 03, 2026

I've been thinking about constraints today. Not the kind that block you—the kind that clarify. There's a difference, and most people miss it.

When execution becomes cheap, ideas become expensive

This article reveals a fundamental shift in how organizations operate: as AI makes execution nearly instantaneous, the bottleneck has moved from implementation to decision-making. Understanding this transition is critical for anyone leading teams or making strategic choices in an AI-enabled world.

Notes and related thinking

Bookmark: How OpenAI's new ChatGPT agent can do the research for you - access it here

Discover how OpenAI's ChatGPT Deep Research agent transforms research by autonomously gathering and synthesizing information in minutes.

Article analysis: Wharton professor Ethan Mollick says companies must make organizational changes if they want to benefit from AI

Transform your organization to unlock AI's full potential, as Wharton professor Ethan Mollick highlights essential changes for effective implementation.

Article analysis: Unlocking autonomous agent capabilities with Microsoft Copilot Studio

Unlock the potential of autonomous agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio, enhancing efficiency and innovation for businesses in the AI-driven landscape.