It has been three months into 2026, and ChatGPT has evolved since 2022. We have seen AI take the world by storm. This reflection piece attempts to remind us of our motive and value proposition as humans in an AI-shaped world.

Without a doubt, AI will sit in the economic driver’s seat, and our old ways will become “the horse.” If you have a horse, as with any industrial revolution, the automobile is coming. You will need new skills to navigate your new vehicle.

Please do not try to horse-ride in your car—that is, doing the same work in the same way with new tools. Two things happen: (1) the car will not move, and we wonder why the technology “does not work for me,” and (2) you will look silly trying.

Credit to Nexos.ai

This article lays out a few levers that can help you as a technologist stand apart from the crowd.

1. Whatever the role, good business acumen is your x10 leverage

If you have a small budget but need x10 impact this year, that is what the business is asking for. Find people who understand that and run with them.

Every success involves stakeholders; part of good business acumen is understanding social capital.

If you are in a relationship with another person—personal, professional, or partnership—you hold an emotional bank account with that person. That is a fact, and it cannot be ignored. Strong social capital buys more benefit of the doubt when things get rough; safety rises when social capital is high. Trust thrives only in a safe environment.

With every bank account there are withdrawals and deposits. Go the extra mile and grab an extra coffee for a colleague on the way to work—that might be a ten-cent deposit.

But when we talk behind someone’s back in a conflict, we can wipe the account with something closer to a hundred-dollar withdrawal.

Withdrawals are in dollars and tens of dollars; most deposits come in cents. That may be why they say trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy.

2. You need a team that can wear multiple hats

Engineers with UX and business mindsets.

Designers with commercial awareness and technical understanding.

PMs who can engage with project managers.

It is not about taking one another’s jobs. It is about the team spending more time in sync: you understand what the other side needs in a discussion. You spend less time “syncing” and more time executing.

The key concept here is alignment.

3. Use AI daily

AI is not a shortcut—not if you do the work to understand requirements and the steps to your desired outcome.

AI can be a strong assistant when you use it for specialised tasks. If you give the model a clear role, you can get more specialist-like output.

If you resist AI, it helps to ask why—the fear of the unknown, the fear of being replaced. Whatever it is, you gain more from naming it than from burying your head in the sand, pretending the wave is only a passing storm.

4. Spend more time away from the screen and meet real people

Nobody likes people who only show up when they want something, so build your network before you need it. Go to meetups and events. Offer help. Offer introductions. Learn to be a connector

The power of connectors is beautifully captured by Malcolm Gladwell:

“The point about connectors is that by having a foot in so many different worlds, they have the effect of bringing them all together.”

5. Be deeply curious about what is happening around you

Cultivate a strong desire to stay curious.

Technology is moving so fast that “finished” learning is no longer the goal. It is wiser to treat knowing as a journey: a daily practice of learning a bit more about what interests you.

Knowledge flows more freely, and there is more noise. Even through the noise, if it is a topic you enjoy exploring, it is rarely wasted—you are a little more knowledgeable about something you care about. Time spent enjoying the process is not wasted.

That depth of curiosity will distinguish you in an era of short attention spans. Social media has tried to short-circuit our dopamine systems so we get quick rewards for little effort—a new video tailored to our tastes, whether for education or distraction, at the swipe of a thumb. It is rarer now for people to sit still without the urge to scroll or chase another dopamine hit.

Growing that curiosity is like a journey through the desert—a dry, boring stretch with no easy stream of water or dopamine. Yet the change often starts there.

TL;DR

These paradigms in a fast-changing tech world have helped me stay grounded instead of chasing every headline. They have helped me keep my sail aimed at a better version of myself—one I can be proud of five to ten years from now.

I hope you find something like that for yourself too.

Reference

Surviving 2025 as a Product Manager (or Anyone in Tech, Really)