Have Your Managers Given you an AI Strategy?

Hello,

This is Simon with the latest edition of The Weekly. In these updates, I share key AI related stories from this week's news, list upcoming events, and share any longer form articles posted on the website.

Nearly every organisation has now either approved specific AI tools, like Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot, or their employees are freely using whatever platforms they like best. Access to AI isn't the issue.

But what has management suggested you do with it?

Have they provided strategic guidance, such as:

Many business leaders don't know what their teams should be using AI for. Senior management might demand everyone "use AI to be more efficient" but then fail to provide an actual strategy. This is a huge oversight.

Just providing people with tools and a set of restrictions on what not to do doesn't deliver results.

We are also creatures of habit. It’s hard to change behaviours when we already know the level of effort and can predict the results. It's tough to switch to new tools and processes when the outcome feels uncertain. It's often a case of “better the devil you know.”

However, this provides you with an opportunity.

As a subscriber to Plain AI, I imagine you have a better grasp of AI than some others. Can you document how you are using AI to improve your work, and share it with your colleagues. Explain the tools you’ve used, the features and settings, and most importantly, highlight the results.

Do this a few times, and you can start to position yourself as a Subject Matter Expert and an important resource for the company. Promotion and praise may await.

Have you been given any direction by management on how to use AI? What have you learnt that you could present to your colleagues?

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In this section, I highlight a real-world example of AI. This week I talk about how hotel chain, Marriott is using a chatbot to answer customer questions.

A U.S. federal judge has allowed authors’ claims against OpenAI to proceed, accusing the company of infringing their copyrights by summarising or re-using published works for its AI model training. The judgment noted how quickly generative AI can “devastate the market” for creative content, according to the publishers’ association.

Why this matters: The case raises questions about how creative content is used to train AI, and whether authors should be compensated or informed. This is important for everyone who makes or consumes content.

The London-based hedge fund Brevan Howard has hired Tim Mace (ex-Man Group) as its new head of artificial intelligence. This move reflects a growing trend of finance firms aggressively recruiting AI and machine-learning talent to gain an edge in algorithmic trading.

Why this matters: This shows that AI is not just in tech or consumer apps and it’s now central in high-stakes industries like finance. This is a signal that AI is becoming deeply embedded in many parts of the economy, not just “the apps you use”.

A recent cybersecurity recap reports that attackers are increasingly using AI tools: malware hidden in virtual machines, side-channel leaks from AI chats, and sophisticated spying on Android devices.

Why this matters: As AI becomes more powerful and more available, the bad actors get access too. You should be aware that AI isn’t only about clever assistants, it can also empower new threats, so staying cautious online matters more than ever.

Thanks for reading, and see you next Friday.

Simon,

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