Welcome to Chief AI Officer
A new community for knowledge work professionals grappling with the AI revolution
Welcome to this update from Chief AI Officer, a community for knowledge work professionals grappling with the AI revolution. If you’re reading this and haven’t yet signed up, hit the button to subscribe:
🚀 Let’s do this
You probably arrived at this page via my newsletter, New World Same Humans. Or perhaps you came from social media, or a friend recommended that you come over and take a look.
In any event, it’s great you’re here.
If you’re a knowledge work or creative professional with a deep interest in the AI revolution that’s unfolding around us now, I know you’re going to find this place useful.
Chief AI Officer is a community for knowledge work professionals who are grappling with the AI revolution and its implications — for their organisation, team, or career journey. It’s a space for all of us — and that means you — to come together and learn from one another.
I know firsthand the kinds of questions professionals are asking about AI now:
What does AI mean for us?
How can we put it to work to become more effective?
What new things will AI empower us to do?
How do we persuade our people to use it?
How are our competitors using it?
How is AI going to change our industry?
How will it change what our customers or clients expect from us?
If your work is bringing you into contact with these questions and others like them, then Chief AI Officer is for you.
To make sure you don’t miss future updates — including our launch series of conversations with a stellar line up of AI leaders — just hit subscribe:
Even as this community launches, the longterm vision is clear. It’s that together, we make this the world’s leading independent community for people navigating the application of AI to knowledge work.
Intriguied? Read on…
💥 The Deep Dive on Chief AI Officer
The big vision? It’s that Chief AI Officer will become a shared space of exploration, learning, and counsel for all of us.
There is so much planned, including an online community, reports and briefings, and in-person events.
But first, let me explain a little more.
I want to tell you the story of why I’m founding this community now. And go a little deeper on who Chief AI Officer is for.
My work in AI
I consult often inside household name brands, leading B2B organisation, and charities. I do a lot of work — as an external advisor and thinking partner — with one of the Big Four consulting firms.
An example…
Early this year I went to Nashville, to speak at a huge annual gathering of leaders from US credit unions. Later in the year, I spoke to the board of a UK-based startup bank. And recently, I spoke to the board of a big health and wellness retailer.
The unifying thread? They all wanted to talk about AI.
It’s all anyone wants to talk about right now. And that’s understandable. We’re amid the early days of the next great computing paradigm. The implications will be vast, and they will play out for years to come. Everyone wants to know what it will mean for them and their organisation.
Chief AI Officer is my response to all this.
Who are you?
So who is this community for?
Perhaps you’re a team leader who has been asked to explore the potential that AI tools — ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and more — hold for your people.
Maybe you’re a senior marketer, or a creative in an agency. You’re probably asking yourself: how is generative AI set to transform the production of content? What does this mean for me and my team? Aren’t we going to lose touch with human creativity?
You could be a consultant, an HR professional, or a leader inside retail, travel, healthcare, media — knowledge work professionals inside pretty much every industry are set to be impacted by what’s happening now.
You could be a foresight professional or researcher, working to understand how AI will transform the behaviours and mindsets of consumers.
You could be a founder or SME-owner who is trying to figure out what all this means your startup.
And that’s just a few examples.
In short, if you’re a knowledge work or creative professional grappling with what AI means for your organisation, how to put it to work, what comes next, and where it’s taking consumers and clients, then this space is for you.
And if that is you, then you know what to do…
What’s coming?
There are big plans in the works.
Most important, this space belongs to all of us. It will be a place where brilliant professionals can come together and learn from one another when it comes to this AI moment and how to navigate it.
Of course, there is lots Chief AI Officer will do to light the fire and keep it burning.
Chief AI Officer will host a community where we can all come together and share ideas, examples, and insights. We’ll supply you with briefings on the latest research and innovation. We’ll dive deep on AI-fuelled trends and how you can apply them inside your organisation. And we’ll bring you actionable, road-tested guidance and advice from inspiring leaders who are grappling with just the same questions you are.
Eventually, we’ll take this offline, and host closed in-person events and roundtables.
But first, we’re kicking things off with some amazing conversations…
🎤 Inspiring conversations
Chief AI Officer is launching with a series of conversations with AI leaders working at the coal face now.
I’m super-proud to introduce the first: with David Rowlands, Global Chief AI Officer of KPMG:
Under David’s leadership, KPMG have been at the forefront of exploring the implications of the AI revolution for knowledge work.
Head over here to watch the full conversation.
I’m confident you’ll find wisdom and tactics that you can apply as you navigate the AI journey inside your organisation.
Further conversations are coming, with a stellar line up of AI leaders. They include Graham Smith, Head of Data Science and Innovation at Natwest, Mick Costigan, leader of the futures team at Salesforce, and Daniel Hulme, Chief AI Officer at global creative agency WPP.
Remember, to make sure you don’t miss an update, just hit the subscribe button:
🚀 We have liftoff
Thanks for reading.
There’s quite a journey ahead. And I can’t wait to go on it with all of you.
Watch out for further updates from Chief AI Officer, and I’ll see you all inside the community.
For now, be well,
David.