Beyond The Prompt - How to use AI in your company

Robert Wright believes that whether you're excited about AI or terrified of it, you should be feeling some awe. He sees AI as a turning point in the history of life on Earth and explores the possibility of a “global brain” that could become far more intelligent than us. But if we build something that powerful, how do we make sure it works in humanity's favor?
Robert explains why managing AI may require international cooperation, and why our own tribal instincts could get in the way. Henrik and Jeremy also explore what happens if things go right, from breakthroughs in science to a world where people might no longer need to work. But what would life actually look like in that future?
The conversation turns to the AI companions we choose, and why having one that tells us the truth might matter more than having one that agrees with us. Afterward, Henrik and Jeremy wonder whether AI could help us reconnect with the physical world, and why having more free time doesn't necessarily mean we'll use it well.
Key Takeaways: 
AI deserves our awe, whether we're excited or afraid.
Robert Wright explains why AI could mark a turning point in the history of life on Earth.
Managing AI requires more than better technology.
Robert argues that global cooperation is essential, but human tribalism could stand in the way.
Choose an AI that tells you the truth.
Robert warns against AI companions that simply agree with us, and encourages people to actually try the technology.
More free time doesn't guarantee a better life.
Henrik and Jeremy explore whether AI could help us reconnect with the physical world, and why being present still takes effort.
The God Test: Book Website
Robert Wright X: X/RobertWright
Nonzero: Nonzero.org
00:00 Intro: Could AI Become a God?
00:40 Meet Robert Wright
01:16 Why AI Deserves Our Awe
03:02 Are We Underestimating AI?
05:44 The Everyday Miracles of AI
07:07 How AI Learns Without Understanding the Brain
09:20 AI and the History of Life on Earth
13:13 Are Humans Really Less Flawed Than AI?
16:41 What Is the God Test?
18:12 Why AI Needs Global Cooperation
21:36 What Would AI Heaven Look Like?
25:12 Would Life Without Work Be Fulfilling?
28:55 Why the Future Is Hard to Imagine
32:48 AI Alignment vs. What the Market Wants
35:07 Choosing an AI That Tells You the Truth
37:52 Why You Should Actually Try AI
41:47 The Debrief
📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here!

 
For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:
Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley
 
Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen. 

We're going live on November 11!
Henrik will be interviewing Jeremy about his new book, The Human Advantage: What AI Can't Do Without You, followed by a 45-minute AMA.
Got questions about AI, entrepreneurship, writing, or anything we've talked about on the pod? Come join us!
Here's how to join: 
Pre-order Jeremy's book and send your receipt to preorders@jeremyutley.com to get your Zoom access code.
Pre-order the book here: The Human Advantage 
Hope to see you there!

 
For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:
Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley
 
Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen. 

After 15 years of building Zapier, Wade Foster is inviting his team to rethink almost everything. What started as a “code red” response to AI has become an opportunity to rediscover what the company could be. Wade describes the feeling as “10 out of 10 anxiety, but 10 out of 10 fun.” The challenge is getting an entire organization to see the possibilities, especially when change can feel threatening.
Wade shares what this looks like inside Zapier, including an experiment to let AI agents handle customer support emails. It turns out that handing work over to AI is much harder than simply adding an assistant to an existing process. The team has spent months figuring out how to make it work, with humans still playing an important role.
Henrik, Jeremy, and Wade also explore what it takes to thrive when the old rules no longer apply. They discuss curiosity, resourcefulness, and the instinct to act instead of waiting for instructions. And while Wade is giving his team permission to question everything, the conversation raises a harder question: how do you get people to challenge the way things have always been done when that's exactly what they've been taught to follow?

Key Takeaways
The work is changing, even when the jobs aren't disappearing.
Henrik and Jeremy reflect on Wade's point that AI doesn't necessarily make a role obsolete, but it can fundamentally change what people do in that role.
Resourcefulness is becoming a superpower.
Henrik and Jeremy discuss why curiosity, adaptability, and the willingness to act without all the answers are increasingly valuable. Sometimes the most important step is realizing you can just build something.
Question everything, but bring a better idea.
Henrik points out that challenging the way things have always been done is only useful if you're willing to suggest or try something different.
You can't refound a company by announcement alone.
Jeremy wonders how leaders can make questioning old assumptions part of everyday work. He and Henrik explore why established habits, defaults, and organizational structures can be harder to change than the rules themselves.
Wade's LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/wadefoster
Wade's X: X.com/wadefoster
Zapier: Zapier.com
Wade's articles: Zapier.com/wadefoster
00:00 Intro: The Work Is Changing
00:48 Meet Wade Foster
04:49 Is Your Strategy Too Small for AI?
06:14 From Code Red to Refounding Zapier
07:31 10/10 Anxiety, 10/10 Fun
08:50 How Much Has AI Actually Changed?
10:41 Getting People Excited About AI
13:56 Why Jobs Are Changing
15:34 Rethinking How Work Gets Done
16:39 Inside Zapier's AI Support Experiment
20:14 When Existing Workflows Break
21:45 Identity, Curiosity, and Adaptability
25:36 The Instinct to Act Without All the Answers
29:39 Stop Waiting for an Assignment
33:28 You Can Just Build Something
34:43 What Does Refounding Actually Mean?
36:40 Giving People Direction Without All the Rules
38:36 The Future of Automation at Zapier
39:18 Wade's Advice for Refounding a Company
41:45 What Would a New CEO Do?
43:23 The Debrief
📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here!

 
For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:
Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley
 
Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen. 

Nicholas Skytland spent 25 years at NASA, where he helped bring people from around the world together through hackathons. He joins Henrik and Jeremy to share what makes hackathons work, why different perspectives matter, and how to help people through the moment they want to give up.

Nick is now bringing that approach to kids. When his wife wanted to run an AI hackathon at her school, restrictions on AI tools led Nick and his team to build Launch.Kids. At one event, 36 teams created 500 applications in a single day.

Try Launch.Kids: If you're a student, parent, or teacher interested in learning how to build with AI, we'd love for you to try out Launch.Kids, mentioned on the show. The first 100 listeners can sign up at https://launch.kids/welcome/beyondtheprompt for a free month of credit.

The conversation then turns to a bigger question: how well do we really know our own values? Nick, Henrik and Jeremy explore how to communicate what matters to us when working with AI, and why we shouldn't hand over our judgment just because technology makes it easy.

Key Takeaways
Hackathons are an underused tool
Henrik and Jeremy reflect on how hackathons bring different people together, encourage experimentation, and create value even when they don't lead to a finished product.
Expect the moment of despair
Getting stuck is part of building something new. Nick explains why good hackathons need mentors, encouragement, and a bit of fun to help people push through it.
The better you know yourself, the better you can use AI
Henrik and Jeremy discuss why understanding your own values, preferences, and ways of thinking helps you give AI better direction and recognize when its answers don't fit.
Don't let AI do all the thinking for you
AI can make decisions easier, but that doesn't mean we should stop questioning its answers. Henrik and Jeremy reflect on the importance of bringing our own judgment to the conversation, especially when we're dealing with something we don't know much about.
Launch.Kids: Launch.Kids
Nicholas' LinkedIn: LinkedIn/NicholasSkytland

00:00 Intro: Don't Outsource Your Judgment to AI
00:20 Meet Nicholas Skytland
00:46 How NASA Opened Up Innovation
03:45 Measuring the ROI of Hackathons
05:04 Getting Past the Barriers to Open Innovation
07:51 Bringing Hackathons to Kids
09:19 Building Launch.Kids
14:44 Why “Just Play With AI” Isn't Enough
18:19 The Moment of Despair
21:36 How to Run a Hackathon
23:39 The Process, Not the Product
25:56 Inside Anthropic's Gathering of Faith Leaders
31:33 Be an Active Shaper of AI
34:36 Can AI learn good judgement? 
39:00 Who Gets to Decide What's Good?
42:40 Communicating Your Values to AI
44:25 Don't Outsource Your Judgment
46:42 Henrik's Personal AI Playbook
51:10 The Debrief
📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here!

 
For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:
Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley
 
Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen. 

Alexander Kuilman works with CEOs and executive teams to bring more humanity into how they lead. He joins Henrik and Jeremy to explore why, if leaders know AI matters, getting people to actually use it can still be so difficult.
Using Bob Kegan and Lisa Lahey’s Immunity to Change framework, Alex argues that “I don’t have time” can mask deeper fears about competence, relevance, and what happens when AI can do work you previously thought made you valuable. They also explore why psychological safety matters if people are going to admit what they don’t know and actually experiment.
The conversation ends with the “AI vampire” and Alex’s idea of “corporate numbing”: AI makes us more productive, but instead of taking the time back, we often fill it with more work. Which leaves a bigger question: when AI gives us time back, what do we actually want to do with it?

Key Takeaways: 
AI resistance may be about fear, not time
“I don’t have time” can mask deeper fears about competence, relevance, and what happens when AI can do work you thought made you valuable.
People need to feel safe enough to experiment
Psychological safety gives people room to admit what they don’t know, try something new, and risk looking incompetent.
How leaders make people feel matters
Henrik and Jeremy realize that some of the AI leaders they admire don’t just have good tactics. They make people around them feel safe enough to try.
Don’t let AI give you more work
The “AI vampire” turns productivity gains into more work. Alex’s idea of “corporate numbing” asks whether staying busy is sometimes easier than deciding what we actually want to do with the time AI gives back. Alex Kuilman (transcript - fina…
The Practice: bethepractice.com
Alex's LinkedIn: LinkedIn/AlexKuilman
Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan & Lisa Laskow
Amy Edmondson on Psychological Safety: Psychological Safety
00:00 Intro: The Problem of Corporate Numbing
00:23 Meet Alexander Kuilman
04:45 Why Aren’t People Using AI More?
06:49 The Hidden Assumptions Blocking Change
08:08 Jeremy’s Travel Problem
14:12 What Are People Really Afraid of With AI?
16:02 Stop Making Time to Experiment
22:25 Psychological Safety and AI Adoption
32:56 How to Hold Yourself
38:57 The Leaders Who Make People Feel Safe
40:33 What If AI Helps Us Think Less?
44:13 The AI Vampire
46:10 Corporate Numbing
54:08 Your Humanity Is the Advantage
58:05 The Debrief
📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here!

 
For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:
Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley
 
Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.