📬 AI at Work: From Fake Interviews to Robot Reforestation
AI is reshaping how we build, hire, design, and respond to global challenges. Are you ready for these big changes?
While some teams are racing to build AI-powered products from scratch, others are rethinking how they work. Meanwhile, product managers are picking up Python, and designers are watching interfaces fade into the background. Even human resources is facing drastic changes as HR leaders must learn how to spot when candidates aren’t who they claim to be.
Last week, our AI experts explored these issues in depth and advised professionals on preparing for the new era of AI in the workplace—and the stock market.
👇 Let’s take a closer look.
Special highlight from our Network
🚨 Startups are getting compliant faster. Here’s why it matters for AI builders
Security audits used to be a “Series B” problem. Now? Investors and enterprise buyers expect it before your first contract.
That’s where Vanta comes in.
💡 Why AI startups are choosing Vanta early:
Vanta helps early-stage teams get SOC 2 and ISO 27001–ready without the manual chaos. Think: audit-readiness without engineering slowdown.
🛠 Built for speed:
✅ 300+ integrations (AWS, GCP, GitHub, Notion, you name it)
✅ Startup templates designed for early teams
✅ Automated monitoring, alerts, and updates
🗣 “We closed our seed round faster thanks to Vanta.” — Real startup CTOs, probably every week
Here’s the kicker:
Startups using Vanta are closing deals faster, raising rounds smoother, and skipping compliance panic when scale hits.
Product Management
From Post-Its to Python: AI Gives PMs a New Superpower
Can product managers build MVPs without an engineer? According to Filip Szymanski, the answer is yes, and the future of product management may depend on it. In this issue, Filip shares how AI coding assistants transform the PM role from strategic glue to tactical builder.
He explores two paths: agentic development tools (like v0 and Lovable) for quick mockups, and intelligent IDE-based coding assistants for real application development. Filip’s personal journey—from a 20-year coding hiatus to shipping apps with React and Python in three months—shows just how accessible this path has become.
💡 His advice to PMs? Learn the basics. Understand how modern software is built. Most importantly, PMs should use AI tools as not just copilots, but also collaborators in design, logic, and delivery.
🔹 Filip Szymanski is the founder of an AI Voice Agent startup, a product management veteran with 20+ years of experience, and a leading voice on becoming an AI-powered product manager.
Climate
Machines on a Mission: How AI Robotics Are Powering the Green Transition
AI is out in the wild, laying solar farms, reseeding forests, and sniffing out methane leaks. In this week’s Climate+AI spotlight, Bill Stark explores the emerging world of AI-powered robotics driving real-world environmental progress. With labor shortages slowing infrastructure rollouts, automation is bridging the gap.
Recommended by LinkedIn
From robotic weeders and autonomous trash collectors to precision solar panel installers, a new class of “vertical robots” is rising—built for narrow tasks in semi-structured environments. The solar industry, in particular, is becoming a showcase for this shift, where smart machines now support everything from surveying and pile-driving to panel cleaning and predictive maintenance.
💡 But the road ahead isn’t all green. Bill calls out four essential challenges: power sustainability, accessibility, reliability, and human-centered execution. If done right, robotics will empower people rather than replace them.
🔹 Bill Stark is the founder of Stark Energy, a climate tech advisory firm. He is passionate about addressing our planet's most pressing challenges and is inspired by those leading the way at the intersection of AI and climate.
Design
The Vanishing Interface: When AI Makes UX Invisible
According to designer Sven Phan, the future of interface design isn’t visual; it’s invisible. AI is quietly erasing buttons, tabs, and toolbars by turning natural language into the new user interface. Why click through five screens to schedule a meeting when you can just ask?
This week’s Design+AI issue explores how tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Adobe Firefly are simplifying complex workflows. Whether it's generating a report from a spreadsheet or swapping image backgrounds with a prompt, AI is removing friction by speaking our brain’s native language: words.
💡 The key takeaway? Sven argues that these new interfaces better align with how humans think and make decisions. As these systems get smarter, they’ll anticipate needs, reduce choice overload, and make the UI so intuitive that you won’t even notice it’s there. The best interface, it turns out, may be the one we forget.
🔹 Sven Phan is the co-founder of a venture studio called Studio.init(), where he partners with startups by trading expertise for equity. He combines his HCI and creative background to help brands leverage new technology and psychology-driven methods for their designs.
Deepfakes
Fake Faces, Real Threats: How Deepfakes Are Targeting HR
Remote hiring just got riskier. In this week’s Security+AI issue, Jason Thatcher explores how cybercriminals use deepfake live video to impersonate job applicants in real time and infiltrate companies from the inside. With just a photo and an open-source tool, attackers can secure roles, access sensitive systems, and steal data while collecting a paycheck.
Why HR? Because they hold the keys. From payroll fraud to insider threats, HR teams are now on the frontlines of a new cybersecurity battle. The playbook is evolving, and hiring protocols must evolve with it.
💡Jason outlines practical steps—from “hand tests” during interviews to cross-checking credentials—that can help detect deepfake manipulation before it’s too late. In this new threat landscape, HR isn’t just hiring talent. They’re protecting the organization.
🔹 Jason Thatcher is the founder of Breacher.ai and has a background spanning red teaming, adversary simulation, and security awareness. Breacher.ai takes a human-first approach to deepfake defense by building awareness through simulations and practical training, instead of fear tactics.
Discover What’s Next
We’re just getting started! New expert-led tracks will soon be available, with fresh perspectives on education, branding, wellness, change management, and more.
Additionally, next week we’ll have a fresh round of key takeaways from our authors’ in-depth insights in healthcare, AI ethics, investments, edge AI, and physical AI.
Want to be the first to access these insights?
Now’s the perfect moment to tailor your feed.
👇 Design Your AI Journey
💬 What AI trends are you currently watching?
Share your take! We’re listening, and your input helps shape the future of this newsletter.
— The GenAI Works Team
SENIOR MANAGEMENT LEADER - FINANCE, OPERATIONS, STRATEGY. Board Director, CFO, author.
1w#AI compliance for dev ops startup firms, even SOC 1/2 services, so cool and nimble! I also love Bill Stark's AI use in climate! Thanks Generative AI
Photographer/Elementary School Teacher/ ESL
1wNice! Great read for the guppies swimming along side the sharks, paddling furiously trying to navigate through uncharted waters. Forgive the maritime equivalency, but that's the closest I can surmise my own limitations (for now) with all things pertaining to AI. Great read, folks! Thank you muchly.
Seniors Chairman's President's Industrys Types Categories At Industrys INSURANCE'S Types Categories Globallys
2wstop this all before we returned all you all made {prejudice other life human}
Product Management | Business Analytics | HR | L&D | NeuroLeadership
2wGreen Revolution and Deep Fake are interesting and vital use cases for AI to address that helps people across the globe.
OK