For the latest evidence that artificial intelligence is poised to substantially alter the tech talent ecosystem moving forward, look no further than a recent memo from Tobi Lütke.
Lütke needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway: he’s the cofounder and chief executive officer of Ottawa-based Shopify, an e-commerce pioneer and the second largest company in Canada by market capitalization, behind only incumbent financial behemoth Royal Bank.
As the CEO of a major public tech brand, Lütke must at all times be reasonably concerned with the performance of his workforce.
On that front—and other fronts too—Lütke is unabashedly “all-in” on AI.
In his memo, the entrepreneur describes the adoption of AI as the “most rapid shift to how work is done that I’ve seen in my career.”
His take is that AI usage is a critical skill, and one that can only be developed by directly engaging with AI as much as possible.
The rapidly evolving technology is already a “tool of all trades today, and will only grow in importance,” according to the CEO.
Indeed, Lütke says his old ethos—to regularly tinker with AI—was weak. Instead, workers should develop a “reflex” to use AI for a wide array of situations.
“Using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify,” he wrote. “Learning to prompt and load context is important.”
Beyond workers using AI, the tech is influencing the hiring process of talent as well.
“Before asking for more headcount and resources, teams must demonstrate why they cannot get what they want done using AI,” reads Lütke’s memo.
In a nutshell, Lütke believes that “AI will totally change Shopify, our work, and the rest of our lives.”
