The future of AI can be both exciting and intimidating. While some have been making the most of AI to automate tasks and make work more efficient, others are apprehensive—or even scared that it will take their job one day. But fear and ignoring AI is not the right approach to take, according to entrepreneur, investor, and cofounder of the restaurant reservation service Resy, Gary Vaynerchuk (also known as Gary “Vee”).
“I think there’s a lot to this and the technology is profound,” Vaynerchuk, who has invested in Facebook, Twitter, and Uber, said on a recent episode of The Liz Moody Podcast. “If you’re actually scared, what I definitely tell you that you shouldn’t do is hang around and drink beers and complain about it.”
Vaynerchuk said that the most vulnerable to AI are likely those who don’t pull from their own creativity, and instead do work based on explicit instructions. For example, a graphic designer who is an “order taker.”
“You don’t come up with a creative idea, your boss does—well, then you’re dead,” Vaynerchuk said. “But if you’ve got an idea, you’re creative and strategic, you’ve got time.”
“Learn a new skill. Apply for a new job. Figure it out,” he added.
The entrepreneur pointed out that this isn’t the first time in history when humans have had to adapt to significant technological shifts.
“Did we not learn from calculators or the internet? We go through this every time,” he said. “When the tractor was invented, 80% plus of society worked on farms, and a lot of people sat around on farms…and said this tractor is going to take our jobs—and we got new jobs.”
How Vaynerchuk gets the most out of AI
Vaynerchuk told Moody that embracing AI to help you be more efficient is the best approach—and exactly what he does. He uses tools like ChatGPT as his “strategy thinker,” rather than a tool for creation.
He explained that he recently prompted ChatGPT for indications on social media or pop culture that the “clean shaven look during the height of the Friends era” could reemerge. Vaynerchuk went back and forth with the chatbot for 30 minutes to see if this is a potential cultural shift that he could get ahead of as an investor.
“From an investment standpoint and from a marketing standpoint, I want to think about how Gillette needs to think about things,” Vaynerchuk said. “Do I want to invest in the next Dollar Shave Club or not? Is there something to be had?”
Going forward, Vaynerchuk plans to encourage his employees at VaynerX to capitalize on AI and optimize their efficiency. He told Moody he’s holding a companywide meeting outlining those expectations to make AI more a part of their work.
“Not because I need you to work more. I want you to work less if you want—you can work three hours instead of nine, but you need to AI the f–k out of that,” he said.
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