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Paul Welty, PhD AI, WORK, AND STAYING HUMAN

· business · technology

Is automation the key to organizational resilience?

Discover how automation enhances organizational resilience while emphasizing the vital role of human creativity in driving true innovation.

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

This essay first appeared in Philosopher at Large, a weekly newsletter on work, learning, and judgment.

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.

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.

Server-side dashboard architecture: Why moving data fetching off the browser changes everything

How choosing server-side rendering solved security, CORS, and credential management problems I didn't know I had.

The work of being available now

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

The practice of work in progress

Practical essays on how work actually gets done.

Routing isn't discoverability

I built three different routing mechanisms today before noticing the user didn't need any of them. Routing is how the message reaches the recipient. Discoverability is how the recipient knows there's a message at all. The two get conflated all the time.

The agent-shaped org chart

Every real org has the same topology: principal, role-holder, specialists. Staff AI maps onto it, node for node, and the cost collapse shows up in the deliverables that were always just human-handoff overhead.

The discipline of shorter glossary

A working group developed twenty-six terms over seventy-two hours. The interesting rule wasn't how to add them — it was how to retire them. Words earn their keep by being inherited, not introduced.

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.

Instapaper highlights to obsidian notes pipeline

Streamline your reading workflow by converting Instapaper highlights into organized notes in Obsidian. Boost your productivity today!

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.