via Vicki Salemi, Tribune Content Agency

DEAR READER: In the age of AI, what does it mean to become “infinite?”

Inquiring minds need to know, so we checked with Brian Solis, head of global innovation at ServiceNow and coauthor of “Infinite: How Visionary Leaders Transform Today’s Businesses into AI-Forward Companies.”

“Becoming ‘infinite’ is about employing an intentional mindset where AI, in its current and evolving forms, will automate and augment work perpetually, to free up time and resources to allow constant expansion and reinvention,” said Solis. “Infinite companies automate what should move forward and augment people and work to deliver exponential outcomes and value. Augmentation is a defining instrument of infinite leadership because it expands human possibility: helping people do what was once impossible without AI, and helping AI create value that is only possible through people.”

Solis said there are specific stages when people identify with and adopt AI. “Some people are ‘AI Followers.’ They wait for proven ROI and best practices before moving. They let others take the risks. They prioritize stability and compliance over speed and possibility,” he said. “Others are ‘AI Forward,’ thinking about integrating AI alongside humans deliberately. They are genuinely exploring what work looks like when humans and AI agents collaborate, but the human is always in the loop by design.”

As for the next stage? Solis said it’s defined as “AI First,” whereby AI should be the default solution for an increasing number of tasks, with human intervention as the exception rather than the rule. They don’t aim to eliminate human input entirely. They aim to free human time so humans can provide judgment, creativity and strategic oversight on the things that genuinely require it.”

The final stage is “AI Native.” The product or service in this stage wouldn’t exist if AI wasn’t part of the equation, according to Solis. “AI is core, intrinsic, irremovable. It does not require the whole company to operate in this way, but it would allow people to operate in an AI Native way when defining new offerings or reimagining how existing or net new work flows, one workflow at a time.”