Humans, AI, and the work

An earlier version of this appeared on rework.com.

From the first stone axes to today’s AI, people have learned to store what they know in objects. Now machines can think, do, and create. It’s a remarkable moment. But what comes next?

AI now writes code, writes copy, and talks to customers. Things only people could do before.

For thousands of years, we have created. Business has always been a by-product of that. We create value, then find ways to exchange it.

Now there is a new force: an AI workforce. For the first time, we compete with something that can do parts of our work, and sometimes replace us. Chatbots handle 80% of first customer questions. AI writes first drafts for marketing. Code generators solve problems that once needed junior developers.

So I keep going back to a basic question. Why does a business exist?

From first principles, I think a business is simply this:

1. A combination of our connected outputs.
2. Outputs that create value for someone else.
3. Value that carries economic meaning.

We exist because we produce value that people will pay for. Whether we grow depends on our outputs. And those outputs are now changing because of AI.

AI agents work around the clock, at scale, at lower cost. Our inputs have changed. The businesses that do well in the next ten years will change how the work itself gets done. People and AI handing work to each other, like relay runners in the same race.

What does that mean for how a company runs?

First, people and AI need a shared language. Every handoff, person to person, person to AI, AI to person, needs clear inputs, clear outputs, and a standard for good. A company serves its customers. Each person serves the people around them. AI becomes part of that.

Second, results come first. Work should be transparent, fast, and accountable. Getting the task done matters more than who has which skill.

This isn’t the future of work. It’s already happening. The question is whether we’ll be intentional about how we change with it.