We’re all experiencing AI’s transformative impact—on how we work, live, and do business. Right now, we’re in a kind of liminal space, transitioning from the familiar world of the past into something fundamentally new.
Our perspective is that we’re moving towards a more autonomous world. We see this as the next major wave of transformation. Over the last two decades, we evolved from an analog world to a digital one, reshaping everything from how we meet partners and order food to how we connect today. Now, we’re heading into a new era: autonomy. It’s more than just “digital 2.0”—it’s a new paradigm, with distinct principles we’ll be discussing today.
Much like previous revolutionary technologies such as electricity, digital, or mobile, AI adoption will unfold in three waves.
The first wave involves applying AI to existing ways of working, focusing on time savings, cost reductions, and efficiency gains. Many of you may recognize this wave from the AI investments happening in your own organizations—where AI is being used to automate routine processes and streamline workflows.
The second wave is about leveraging AI for better quality and enhanced outcomes. It’s not just about being faster or cheaper; it’s about delivering superior results and higher standards. This shift often requires rethinking how existing systems work and finding opportunities for AI to elevate what’s possible.
The third wave is where things truly transform—it’s about creating entirely new systems and redefining markets. This is the level of change we’ve seen with digital disruptors like Uber, Airbnb, Netflix, and others, who used technology to build new categories from the ground up. Early AI applications often mimic existing structures (like a digital newspaper initially being just a PDF version), but true transformation comes when we start creating personalized news feeds, dynamic experiences, and new business models that wouldn’t have existed without AI.
Treating AI purely as a productivity tool is a mistake. Yes, AI can improve productivity, but its real potential lies in creating something entirely new. Think of video generation as an example. In the first wave, AI can help edit videos faster and cheaper. In the second wave, it can generate higher quality, more engaging content. By the third wave, AI might enable personalized movie experiences—content tailored in real time for an audience of one, whether it’s a unique TikTok stream or a commercial generated just for you.
It’s important to understand that success in the first wave doesn’t guarantee success in the third. Businesses must plan their AI strategies with a vision for all three waves, ensuring that investments made today help build towards transformative opportunities tomorrow. We advocate for a portfolio approach: invest across all three waves, with a clear vision for the third wave in mind.
Dive deeper with the webinar on ‘Building your AI Strategy’
Instead of adapting AI to fit current practices (a present-forward approach), we apply a future-back approach and envision what the next evolution of your business could look like at its peak—your “wave three” transformation.
Whether it’s a specific function, a department, or the entire organization, we picture what a fully realized, AI-powered future would entail, and work backward to chart the steps needed. This ensures that actions taken in the near term (wave one and wave two) strategically build toward the long-term vision, rather than simply optimizing today’s processes that may soon be outdated.
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