Coaching for Leaders

674: Principles for Using AI at Work, with Ethan Mollick


Listen Later

Ethan Mollick: Co-Intelligence

Ethan Mollick is a professor of management at Wharton, specializing in entrepreneurship and innovation. His research has been featured in various publications, including Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Through his writing, speaking, and teaching, Ethan has become one of the most prominent and provocative explainers of AI, focusing on the practical aspects of how these new tools for thought can transform our world. He’s the author of the popular One Useful Thing Substack and also the author of the book, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI*.

Whether you’ve used it or not, you’ve heard that AI will transform how we work. Given how quickly the technology is changing, how do you start and, if you’ve started already, what’s the way to use it well? In this conversation, Ethan and I discuss the principles for using AI, even as the technology changes.

Key Points
  • GPT-4 is already passing the bar examination in the 90th percentile, acing AP exams, and even passing the Certified Sommelier Examination.
  • Always invite AI to the table. It’s may be helpful, frustrating, or useless — but understanding how it works will help you appreciate how it may help or threaten you.
  • Being the “human in the loop” will help you catch where AI isn’t accurate or helpful. Zeroing in on areas where you are already an expert will help you appreciate where AI is useful and where its limitations emerge.
  • Treat AI like a person, but tell it what kind of person it is. It’s helpful to think of AI like an alien person rather than a machine.
  • Assume this is the worst AI you will ever use. Embracing that reality will help you stay open to possibilities on how you use AI do your work better.
  • Resources Mentioned
    • Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI* by Ethan Mollick
    • Interview Notes

      Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

      Related Episodes
      • How to Build an Invincible Company, with Alex Osterwalder (episode 470)
      • Doing Better Than Zero Sum-Thinking, with Renée Mauborgne (episode 641)
      • How to Begin Leading Through Continuous Change, with David Rogers (episode 649)
      • Discover More

        Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

        ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store

        Coaching for LeadersBy Dave Stachowiak

        • 4.8
        • 4.8
        • 4.8
        • 4.8
        • 4.8

        4.8

        1,392 ratings


        More shows like Coaching for Leaders

        View all
        The Look & Sound of Leadership by Essential Communications - Tom Henschel

        The Look & Sound of Leadership

        1,162 Listeners

        The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk by Ryan Hawk

        The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

        1,332 Listeners

        Teaching in Higher Ed by Bonni Stachowiak

        Teaching in Higher Ed

        373 Listeners

        HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

        HBR IdeaCast

        169 Listeners

        Negotiate Anything by Kwame Christian Esq., M.A.

        Negotiate Anything

        705 Listeners

        How to Be Awesome at Your Job by How to be Awesome at Your Job

        How to Be Awesome at Your Job

        1,028 Listeners

        Worklife with Adam Grant by TED

        Worklife with Adam Grant

        9,162 Listeners

        Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style by Laura Camacho

        Speak Up: Develop Your Executive Presence & Leadership Communication Style

        96 Listeners

        Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast by John Maxwell

        Maxwell Leadership Executive Podcast

        384 Listeners

        Maxwell Leadership Podcast by John Maxwell

        Maxwell Leadership Podcast

        2,445 Listeners

        Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

        Inside the Strategy Room

        173 Listeners

        No Bullsh!t Leadership by Martin G Moore

        No Bullsh!t Leadership

        124 Listeners

        A Bit of Optimism by Simon Sinek

        A Bit of Optimism

        2,169 Listeners

        Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

        Coaching Real Leaders

        669 Listeners

        ReThinking by TED

        ReThinking

        639 Listeners

        HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

        HBR On Leadership

        164 Listeners