Unless dramatic actions are taken over the next five years, the pervasive growth of AI will likely usher in a painful world of dystopian decline and inequality. In the previous post, we examined Amir Husain’s description of three interconnected forces that are shaping the future of global society:
The exponential growth of AI, which will cause profound economic disruptions,
The interaction of AI with powerful societal cycles risking social unrest and
The threat to essential sustainability, resilience, innovation, and prosperity in urban centers worldwide, which are critical to social/economic well-being.
Husain warns that AI's disruptive potential could destabilize our existing societal and economic paradigms unless we consciously cultivate a balanced synergy between human and machine intelligence. My colleagues and I call this blend “collaborative intelligence.” (2-5). Achieving this balance requires a deliberate commitment to societal well-being and economic sustainability.
Husain’s framework defines three eras spanning over two decades, during which global society and the economy will undergo a profound transformation. We are now at the threshold of the first of these eras: the Era of Adjustment. This blog suggests a series of actions and interventions, starting immediately, that can redirect the trajectory of these three eras away from dystopia and toward shared prosperity.
AI Disruption: The Timeline for Reshaping Economies and Societies
Poised at the Threshold of the Era of Adjustment
Today, we find ourselves at the threshold of the Era of Adjustment to Pervasive AI. The momentum for this transformation has been building rapidly since the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022. However, many current enterprise AI initiatives are plagued by short-term, cost-and-efficiency-focused mindsets that overlook the broader societal implications and potentials of AI-enabled transformation. Common shortcomings include:
Lack of a balanced vision: Failing to optimize the synergy between human and machine intelligence, attaining true collaborative intelligence (2-5).
Cost-centric approaches: Focusing on reducing expenses and offshoring rather than creating value.
Focus on efficiency over innovation: Prioritizing productivity gains rather than breakthroughs that solve complex problems and create value.
Isolated pilots: Conducting AI experiments without scaling successful AI initiatives enterprise-wide. And boundary-spanning initiatives involving new collaborators.
Opaque operations: Operating without transparency or sufficiently engaging the broader organizational community. Let the tech zealots control the new operation.
Passive acceptance: Assuming AI's impact is inevitable, market-driven, and beneficial without projecting and shaping its direction.
Limited foresight: Neglecting scenario modeling of potential AI-driven societal futures.
If these mindsets persist, we risk dire consequences by 2030. As machine intelligence displaces knowledge workers, structural unemployment will rise, overwhelming traditional retraining systems. Entire industries will become AI-dominated, the middle class will erode further, and social unrest will intensify. Wealth inequality will surge as AI’s economic benefits accrue predominantly to AI technologists and capital owners.
By 2040—or possibly sooner, such unchecked developments could culminate in a dystopian society marked by extreme inequality and widespread disenfranchisement. Global challenges like climate change, pandemics, and public health crises will compound these dystopian outcomes.
To avoid this future, we must act now.
Actions to Take—Starting immediately
Organizations must adopt more strategic, socially conscious approaches to AI by implementing the following actions:
Adopt a Transparent, Transformational AI Mindset
Elevate AI beyond cost-cutting and productivity to achieve transformational outcomes. Foster an open, inclusive dialogue about how AI can enhance organizational success and societal well-being.
Incorporate Societal and Economic Well-Being into AI Strategies
AI initiatives should prioritize societal impact and value created, ensuring that technological progress supports community resilience, economic equity, and global sustainability.
Use Predictive Foresight to Explore Alternative AI Futures
Develop scenario-based strategies informed by Husain’s three drivers and three eras. Simulate various AI-powered societal futures to guide responsible innovation. Accelerate the pace and scale of planning, decision-making, and execution. Continuously refine strategies and execution to reflect ever-changing environments.
Shift from Efficiency to Breakthrough Innovation
AI’s greatest potential lies in its ability to deliver transformative solutions based on breakthrough innovations requiring human intelligence. Focus on projects that solve previously intractable problems and generate both significant customer value and societal benefits, such as:
Personalized, Adaptive Learning at Scale: Improve educational outcomes and dramatically reduce costs. Actively engage learners, providing continuous feedback and interventions by both humans and intelligent agents. Integrate with embedded career planning and student success services driven by AI.
Personalized Career Planning and Retention Services: Help learners and workers navigate the evolving job market with greater confidence and AI-enabled insight. Reach down into K-12 and support existing and new careers spanning 60 years or more.
Accelerated Scientific Discovery and Tech Transfer: Enable faster innovation in science and technology in colleges, universities, and other research enterprises. Use AI and human intelligence to discover new breakthroughs and launch new ventures based on them to overcome job losses due to AI.
Think Globally and Participate in Global Solutions: Develop a global mindset guiding foresight, planning, and execution. Collaborate internationally to address shared challenges like climate change, public health, and social well-being.
Leadership Roles: Leaders must adopt a transformational and global mindset. They must acquire the knowledge and skills to lead, navigate, and manage AI-driven transformations. New change management skills are needed by leaders on Boards, Presidents and their Cabinets, and leaders across the institution.
Partnerships and Collaboration: Forge cross-sector partnerships to maximize the societal benefits of AI. Leaders must understand and cultivate more complex ecosystems that include institutional partners, leading AI innovators, and global collaborators.
Knowledge Industry: A Cornerstone of Societal and Economic Well-Being
The knowledge industry—comprising education, research, and innovation—should play a critical role in shaping AI’s societal impact. By equipping individuals with the skills to thrive in an AI-powered world, the knowledge industry can mitigate job displacement and support the development of adaptive, resilient communities. Educational institutions, businesses, and policymakers must collaborate to create lifelong learning ecosystems that prepare individuals for the dynamic demands of the AI era.
Conclusion: The Time to Act Is Now
The trajectories of AI, the global economy, and society are not predetermined. We can harness AI’s potential to foster prosperity, innovation, and societal well-being by embracing a proactive, socially responsible approach. Without such an approach, most knowledge worker jobs will be at risk. Consequently, knowledge enterprises have a key role to play in this transformation.
Our choices today will determine whether the coming decades lead to shared prosperity or a dystopian world of deep and painful decline.
Let's choose wisely starting now.
Additional Resources and References
Amir Husain, Forbes Innovation, January 10, 2025. From his book, The Cybernetic Society: How Humans and Machines Will Shape the Future Together, forthcoming 2025.
Donald Norris, Linda Baer, Paul LeBlanc, George Siemens, “Collaborative Intelligence: Harnessing the Disruptive Power of AI,” SCUP 2024, July 2023, 2024.
Colleen Carmean, “Colleges, Humanities, and Change in the Age of AI”, Blog November 17, 2024.
Linda L. Baer, “Planners Your World Just Changed: Embrace Collaborative Intelligence,” Blog, November 5, 2024.
Donald Norris, Collaborative Intelligence Will Power the Transformation of Planning and the Roles of Planners in Higher Education, Blog, January 2, 2025.
Joseph Gilmour, “The Role of College and University Boards in Turbulent Times, “Trusteeship, Nov-Dec, 2024, pp. 42-47.
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