On Monday, I introduced what I believe are the five layers of the AI revolution.
Yesterday, we looked at the foundation: the chips, power grids, cooling systems, and data centers making artificial intelligence possible.
Today, I want to move up the stack to what may become the most disruptive layer of all…
The intelligence itself.
When AI Stops Being a Tool and Becomes a Coworker
For years, software has helped us work faster. It organized spreadsheets, managed customer relationships, analyzed data, and automated repetitive tasks.
But it still required a human to drive the process.
That's changing.
The next generation of AI isn't simply answering questions. It's beginning to complete entire jobs.
Need a marketing campaign? AI can draft it. Need computer code? AI can write it. Need financial analysis? AI can build the model. Need legal research? AI can summarize thousands of pages in minutes. Need customer service? AI agents can already resolve many issues without human intervention.
We’re witnessing the birth of what many are calling digital employees - AI agents capable of performing increasingly complex work with minimal supervision.
Every Revolution Changes Jobs More Than It Kills Them
I don’t believe this means humans disappear from the workforce.
Far from it.
History tells us that every major technological revolution changes jobs far more than it eliminates them.
The Industrial Revolution didn’t eliminate manufacturing - it made workers dramatically more productive.
The personal computer didn’t replace office workers - it gave each employee capabilities that would have seemed impossible a generation earlier.
The internet didn’t eliminate businesses - it created entirely new industries.
I believe AI will follow a similar path.
The Race to Build AI Into Everything
The biggest winners won't necessarily be the companies replacing workers. They'll be the companies helping every worker become exponentially more productive.
That’s why nearly every major technology company is racing to build AI into its products.
Microsoft (MSFT) is embedding AI throughout its productivity software with Copilot.
Alphabet (GOOG) is integrating AI across Search, Workspace, and its Gemini platform.
Meta Platforms (META) is investing tens of billions of dollars to make AI central to its products and advertising business.
OpenAI, while still private, has demonstrated how quickly conversational AI can move from a curiosity to an essential tool used by hundreds of millions of people.
Meanwhile, enterprise software companies are finding entirely new ways to create value. Businesses no longer want software that simply stores information.
They want software that can analyze it.
Interpret it.
Act on it.
Imagine a sales platform that doesn’t just track customers but tells your sales team who is most likely to buy this week.
Or cybersecurity software that identifies an attack, isolates the threat, and repairs the damage before anyone realizes there was a problem.
Or healthcare software that reviews thousands of medical studies overnight and suggests the most promising treatment options for physicians.
That’s where we’re headed.
This is why I believe we’re still in the early innings.
Consumer AI Has Arrived. Enterprise AI Hasn't.
Many investors assume AI adoption is already mature because ChatGPT has become a household name.
I see it differently.
Consumer AI may have arrived. Enterprise AI is just getting started. Millions of businesses around the world still haven't fundamentally changed how they operate.
Over the next decade, they will.
Every department - finance, marketing, engineering, legal, customer service, human resources, logistics, and healthcare - will increasingly rely on AI as another member of the team.
Think about what that means.
If every knowledge worker becomes significantly more productive, companies can grow faster without increasing costs at the same pace.
Margins improve.
Profits rise.
Economic productivity accelerates.
That’s why I don’t view artificial intelligence as just another technology trend. I believe it’s the largest productivity boom of our lifetime.
And productivity has always been one of the greatest drivers of long-term economic growth.
When AI Leaves the Screen
Tomorrow, we’ll move into what I believe is the most exciting layer of all…
Physical AI.
Because it’s one thing for artificial intelligence to think.
It’s another thing entirely when it can walk into a warehouse, build a car, inspect a bridge, perform surgery, or deliver a package.
That’s when AI leaves the screen… and enters the real world.
And I believe that chapter is only beginning.
Here’s to the future,
Matt McCall
Founder, NXT Wave Research
