Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

Is Automation the Key to Organizational Resilience?

Automation as the backbone of resilience? This article argues it’s essential, but let’s not forget the human element. While automating routine tasks can indeed free up resources, it’s the strategic deployment of human creativity that drives true innovation. Think of automation as the scaffolding, not the structure. The author claims automation transforms efficiency, yet the real transformation happens when we align technology with human insight. So, are we building resilience or just a faster treadmill? Let’s ensure our focus remains on enriching human potential, not just replacing it.

The new resilience: automating to innovate


Featured writing

Why customer tools are organized wrong

This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how customer support tools are designed—organizing by interaction type instead of by customer—and explains why this fragmentation wastes time and obscures the full picture you need to help users effectively.

Busy is not a state

We've built work cultures that reward activity, even when nothing actually changes. In technical systems, activity doesn't count—only state change does. This essay explores why "busy" has become the most misleading signal we have, and how focusing on state instead of motion makes work more honest, less draining, and actually productive.

Infrastructure shapes thought

The tools you build determine what kinds of thinking become possible. On infrastructure, friction, and building deliberately for thought rather than just throughput.

Books

The Work of Being (in progress)

A book on AI, judgment, and staying human at work.

The Practice of Work (in progress)

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

Recent writing

Dev reflection - January 29, 2026

So here's something I've been sitting with. You finish a piece of work. You ship it. Everything looks good. And then production starts teaching you that you weren't actually done.

Dev reflection - January 28, 2026

So here's something I've been sitting with lately. There's this gap—a subtle one—between a system that's running and a system that's actually working. And I don't mean broken versus not broken. I m...

Textorium is live on the App Store

Textorium launches on Mac App Store - a native editor for Hugo, Jekyll & Eleventy that manages hundreds of posts with table views and smart filtering.

Notes and related thinking

AI didn't deskill us, we were already deskilled

This article challenges the narrative that AI is deskilling workers, instead highlighting how many jobs were already mechanical. It offers a thought-provoking perspective on how AI could be an opportunity to reclaim and enhance human skills.

Reaction: Boredom is the new burnout, and it's quietly killing motivation at work

This article offers a fresh perspective on workplace dynamics, highlighting how boredom, often overlooked, can be as detrimental as burnout, and provides insights on redesigning work to enhance motivation and engagement.

Bookmark: Workers who use AI are more productive at work—but less happy, research finds

AI boosts workplace productivity but may diminish creativity and job satisfaction. Explore the paradox of efficiency versus fulfillment in this insightful...