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The writer is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.
Techno artists like to joke.
They imagine the moment when AI is fully awakened and asked, “Is there God?”
AI responds, “I have it now.”
A joke is more than just a punchline. It’s a warning that reveals something deeper. The fear is that once AI begins to coincide with human intelligence, it is no longer a tool for humanity, but a replacement for us.
AI is the most transformative technology of our lifetime and we face choices. Will it replace us or will it amplify us? Will our future be scripted by etheric autonomous algorithms, or humans?
As CEO of a technology company that helps customers deploy AI, I believe this revolution can lead an era of unprecedented growth and impact.
At the same time, I believe that humans must remain at the heart of the story.
AI has no childhood or heart. It does not love, does not feel loss, nor does it suffer. This makes it impossible to express true compassion or understand human connections.
We do. And it’s our superpower. It inspires the insights and explosions of the genius behind the great inventions of history. That’s what makes it possible to start a company that solves problems and improves the world.
Intelligent AI agents – systems that learn, act and decide on our behalf – can enhance human abilities rather than replace them. The real magic lies in partnerships. People and AI can work together to achieve either or more.
You need that magic more than ever. See what you ask your doctor or nurse. The teacher’s. Soldier’s. of managers and frontline employees. Everywhere we turn, people are overwhelmed by the tsunami of rising expectations and complexity, where traditional systems simply can’t keep up.
This is why AI is essential and not optional due to all its uncertainty.
Salesforce has already seen a rapid rise in AI drives in several key features via the Platform Agent Force. For example, an agent managed by customer service employees resolves 85% of incoming queries. In research and development, 25% of the net new code for the first quarter was generated by AI. This is to free up human teams to accelerate projects and deepen relationships with customers.
The goal is to completely rethink the system and create room for a new kind of partnership between people and machines. It involves weaving AI into the structure of your business.
This does not mean there is no confusion. Jobs change, and like all major technological changes, some disappear – and then new ones emerge. I experienced this firsthand at Salesforce. Our organization is fundamentally reshaping. We use this moment to pause many of our employment in engineering, for example, and return to areas where we employ in other areas. We relocated thousands of employees. This is one reason why 51% of first quarter recruitment was internal.
History teaches us something important here. From printing presses to personal computers, innovation has changed the nature of work. In the long run, it produced more. AI is already generating a new kind of role. Our responsibility is to guide this transition. It involves breaking down work into skills, mapping those skills into future roles, helping you move into more meaningful and fulfilling work.
There is a novel I often recommend: We are Dennis E. Taylor’s Legion (we’re Bob). This story follows software engineer Bob Johansson. Bob Johansson preserves the brain and reappears as digital consciousness more than 100 years after death. The AI ”Bobs” fleet will be released across the galaxy. This book asks the question: If we reduce ourselves to code – infinitely efficient, infinitely duplicated – what will we lose? What happens to the messy, deadly, and deep human experiences that give meaning to life?
If we accept the idea that AI will take our place, we will start writing ourselves in the future. But if we choose to guide it and partner, we can unleash a new era of human potential.
One path leads to cold, connected non-human intelligence. The other refers to a future in which AI is designed to enhance our humanity – deeper connections, imagination, empathy.
AI is not destiny. You need to make a wise choice. It must be designed intentionally. And we must keep humans at the heart of this revolution.
