Hey there,

These days it’s easy to feel frustrated with AI adoption and the tech industry.

In fact, everyone who cares about the people around them probably senses that something’s missing.

You can doomscroll a million news articles to try to figure out what it is, but I prefer to talk to real people, including the 2,000+ students in our programs here at Innovating with AI.

And when I hear from real people – the consultants who are helping actual companies (from small businesses to Fortune 500), the executives who are finishing their weeks on Wednesday, and the creators who are building software without writing a line of code – they tell me that the next big thing the world needs is quite simple, quite obvious, and quite old-fashioned:

Every organization – big and small – needs someone to take on a new role: the Ethical AI Leader.

But it’s not the kind of thing where a company names an “AI person” and forgets about it. It’s a new type of responsibility (and mindset) that needs to be embedded into every team, every department and every layer of every organization.

This week, we’re going to show you what we’ve created to help train a new cohort of ethical AI leaders. You can start now, regardless of age or experience, even with no tech skills, as long as you’re enthusiastic about building a better future.

Why now?

Every company and organization is adopting AI, especially since the models have gotten so much better in the past year. This naturally creates disruption and controversy. The mistake, in my mind, is assuming the disruption is something that’s outside of our control. Yes, there are some things – like international treaties and the inner workings of Google and OpenAI – that a regular person can’t influence very much.

But AI adoption done well isn’t just a top-down thing. It’s not really the realm of CEOs and senators, even though they talk a lot. The hard work and meaningful decisions get made by the people doing the work every day. The regular people who care about those around them.

These decisions are made (or avoided) in everyday settings like Zoom calls and conference rooms and brainstorming sessions. And most people basically have no idea what to do. A lot of our students don’t believe it when they see real stats – like the fact that 69% of people don’t know what Claude is – showing how few people are even remotely AI savvy. The folks in our workplaces need everyday leadership to make sure the AI wave lifts them up rather than crashes over them.

Which brings me to you. You’re here, along with 175,000 compassionate professionals who read Innovating with AI. That means I know a few things about you:

1. You’re thoughtful and care about others – you’re known as a helper and contributor
2. You’re optimistic and enthusiastic about AI, but also use it responsibly – “first, do no harm”
3. You’re skeptical of Big Tech and hustle culture – there’s far more to life than money and metrics

(Believe it or not, there are plenty of people who disagree with those three ideals. I’ve been working toward greater diversity and accessibility in tech for over a decade and they’ve sent me a lot of hate mail.