AI and the Productivity Paradox

In a rapidly evolving world, we need to balance the fear surrounding AI and its role in the workplace with its potential to drive productivity growth. In this special live episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell is joined onstage during NY Tech Week by Rob Thomas, Senior Vice President of Software and Chief Commercial Officer at IBM. They discuss “the productivity paradox”, the importance of open source AI, and a future where AI will touch every industry. 

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

[thevogueshoppingnetwork]

Regina, I like your comment below. I had a face-to-face interview for a job some years ago, and the person interviewing me flat out told me that they don't really care much about what is on my resume, the reason why they do face-to-face interviews is to determine if the candidate is trainable.

[artscollab]

Rob Thomas’ transition from early 2000s lead singer of Matchbox 20 to technology thought leader is nothing short of inspiring.

[reginaldpearce]

Rob's opening story of learning Vizio over the weekend after saying he knows it only to work on a consulting project about Vizio is the epitome of one of Ginni Romety's core ideas. That companies should hire on a person's propensity to learn, not just on what they already know. The continuous learning aspect of a career in IT that is so very relevant.

[montserrat_cano_seo_marketing]

I've loved that the on-going learning aspect is highlighted at the very beginning. It sets the tone.

[blackgptinfo]

The question is why does gdp growth need to occur? The problem is the assumption that perpetual growth is inherently a good thing. This is a hegemonic perspective.

[wspad]

This was a fascinating discussion. Rob identifies 3 requirements for GDP growth. I would be compelled to add a 4th requirement: GDP Growth and Fossil Fuel consumption have nearly a 90% correlation.
I’ve been listening to many in the tech industry state their concerns over data center and AI power requirements. I also hear many inferences suggesting “ample oil & gas” supply for the electrical power needs. Not sure I would count on natural gas for exponential AI growth. I’d highly recommend that teams within AI organizations strike up a conversations with producers and suppliers of natural gas.
They’ve been reporting declining well performance issues in US shale plays for quite some time.

In early 1900, the low hanging fruit were the vertical wells drilled into the natural oil reservoirs which were fed by the same source rock that we’ve been fracking for the past 25 years.
Production for the vertical wells peaked in the 1970s. Well performance in the Bakken, Eagleford, Barnett, Marcellus shale plays have been declining for a few years.
The Permian is still holding its own but it's expected to start declining in 2025. 70% of US oil production is coming from the Permian.

Below is one example of a producers concern:
Shale Billionaire Hamm Tackles ‘Generation 3’ Rock

[isatousarr]

The rise of AI is often hailed as a game-changer for boosting productivity, yet we find ourselves grappling with the "Productivity Paradox" where technological advancements don't always translate into immediate economic gains. While AI has the potential to automate tasks, optimize processes, and drive innovation, the paradox lies in the time it takes for these benefits to materialize across industries. Factors such as the need for skill development, organizational change, and the integration of AI into existing systems can create a lag between AI adoption and measurable productivity improvements. The question then becomes: how can we bridge this gap and fully realize AI's promise to enhance productivity in a meaningful and sustainable way?

[RafaelCortes-zoju]

Fascinating conversation! Leading to a major challenge, productivity stagnation both at national levels as well as workers level. Specially when so much tech has been brought into the equation.

[jasonervoes]

Rob Thomas from the band Matchbox Twenty

[jjjccc]

I liked Gladwell here. His questions were not the usual ones that other interviewers ask. They're usual for him but others could learn a few things from his way of interviewing.

I'm not on the side of the haters of Malcolm as an interviewer.

[pking]

Is this the same Rob Thomas who started Matchbox 20

[世界は崩壊した]

I clicked on this out of curiosity and have no idea whats happening

[csmith]

Loved Rob‘s comment about 120% doing AI 😅

[MarcoKotrotsos]

I found the quant qual comparison insightful. Keeping these use-cases in mind.

[Jeff-S-Grimes]

YES, we always give more meaning and value to our time, humans tell themselves a whole lot of stories

[Malisti]

Great vlog and 39 min is a good length.

[SuperCatbert]

i think the term AI is unhelpful. Lets stop pretending this is anything other than it is. Brute force matrix calcs on a large data set.

[JeffFrick]

There is so much going on in this video, from Malcolm's description of the state of education, to technology aging out as fast as a loaf bread. Hold on.

[jephthah]

Malcolm was once one of my faves, but his conduct at the Munk Debate in 2022 made me reassess. It was the biggest debate loss (by audience vote) in the debate's history, and it revealed a lack of depth and manners on Gladwell's part.

[williamjmccartan]

Thank you both very much for sharing your time and work Malcolm and Rob, peace