Artificial Intelligence: we have reached a point of no return

The point of no return

After nearly three years working daily with generative AI tools and AI agents, I believe we have reached a point of no return — and that people need waking up to it. The great majority still have no idea what is coming.

This is the first piece I have written on the subject, because I believe this is the right moment. AI is not a buzzword. It is not merely hype. It is probably the quietest enormous revolution in human history.

The acceleration is already under way

This is not ten years away. It is not just another bubble in San Francisco. It is now.

Over the next two to three years everything will change, globally and permanently. The question is no longer whether we adopt. It is how fast we can.

The impact on work and on skills

Once you start using these tools in earnest the reality is plain: what took months or years a few months ago now takes hours or days, with fewer people, with less dependence on highly specialised skills, and with effects that cut across the organisation.

• We simplify processes.
• We drive operational excellence.
• We automate administrative work.

The foundation of the digital world has always been programming plus mathematics. That foundation is being absorbed, and quickly. From this year onward, a large share of those skills will be carried out by AI. And this is only the beginning: every sector with automatable work will be affected.

Education and the next generations

There is something more critical still:

• Much of what the coming generations are studying will have little practical application.
• The education system is not sufficiently prepared for what is arriving.

We are facing something far more disruptive — and potentially more dangerous — than most people imagine. This is no longer a moment for experimentation. It is a point of no return. We are, in all likelihood, facing the greatest upheaval modern society has known.

From multimodal models to autonomous agents

With the latest generation of LMMs (Large Multimodal Models), such as those from Anthropic and OpenAI, AI agents have stopped being a future concept:

• They already plan, decide and carry out complex tasks autonomously.
• Whatever can be automated, will be.
• Millions of jobs will disappear or be profoundly transformed.

AGI, ASI and the speed of change

And this is still the beginning:

• Within three to five years: AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) — systems more capable than any human expert.
• After that: ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence) — systems more capable than all humans combined.

It will happen faster than we imagine. And faster than society is ready for. And that is before we talk about humanoid robots.

What this demands of organisations

Governance, architecture, cybersecurity, process definition, use cases and change management are essential to any AI strategy or master plan inside an organisation.

Adapting is no longer optional

Those who do not adapt will be left behind. Adopting quickly is no longer optional.