Why Crypto And All Biz Must Think AI First

Shopify’s Vision: Embracing AI as an Integral Teammate

Shopify could have been a feature in my AI First, Human Always book! When I first decided to write my latest book, AI First, Human Always, back in February, it was clear that simply writing about AI wasn’t going to be enough. I was writing about AI First, and so I wanted to be AI First. I had to fully embrace AI not just as a tool, but as an integral teammate.

So I set myself a bold challenge: create an AI Agent specifically designed to help readers more effectively consume my book, gain access to continuously refreshed insights from my latest research and articles, and guide them directly to content tailored to their interests, whether they’re in financial services, running a small business, or leading marketing initiatives.

Shopify went even further!

Shopify’s Groundbreaking AI Memo

Yesterday, a leaked internal memo from Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, which further validated my decision and underscored the urgency of embracing AI on a larger scale. The memo’s headline immediately grabbed my attention: “Hire an AI before you hire a human.”

This was not just another passing business trend; it was a seismic shift in organizational thinking. If Shopify, a $100 billion company, was embedding AI agents deeply into their organizational structure, it was clear to me—and should be to everyone—that it was time to pay close attention.

David Armano, CX Strategist, Digital Innovator at NTT Data wrote, “It’s a remarkable glimpse at a company that is going all in on #AI. This isn’t just about increasing AI literacy as a nice to have, this is about integrating AI into the fabric of the organization. This reminds me of Facebook’s pivot to become a mobile-first company, only we know AI is even more of a game changer.”

Armano’s words resonated deeply with my own experience. Shopify’s memo wasn’t just theoretical—it mirrored the practical transformation that AI First companies go through.

The Convergence of AI and Blockchain: A New Paradigm

What’s particularly fascinating is how this AI-first approach parallels the evolution we’ve seen in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. Much like how Web3 technologies have shifted from experimental novelties to essential infrastructure, AI is following a similar trajectory of integration into core business operations.

In fact, many of the most innovative players in the crypto space have already been implementing AI agents to enhance their decentralized applications. Smart contracts—the backbone of blockchain functionality—are increasingly being augmented with AI capabilities to create more adaptive, responsive systems that can learn from network interactions while maintaining the security and transparency blockchain provides.

10 Key Takeaways from Shopify’s AI Strategy

Here are ten critical takeaways from Shopify’s memo that every leader needs to consider:

1. AI as a Baseline Expectation: Shopify now treats AI fluency as a foundational hiring criterion, reshaping future teams’ required skills. It’s not about whether you’ll use AI, but how adeptly you’ll leverage it.
2. AI Agents as Teammates, Not Tools: The narrative has shifted dramatically. AI isn’t just supporting humans; it is now a full team member with defined responsibilities and accountability.
3. Prompting as a Core Skill: Shopify highlights prompting—the ability to effectively instruct AI—as essential. The best employees will be those who master this skill, significantly multiplying their productivity.
4. Measuring AI Usage: Interestingly, Shopify has started to quantify employee effectiveness in AI usage. This insight hints at a billion-dollar business opportunity for platforms that can track AI productivity.
5. AI-First Prototyping: The memo stresses an AI-first innovation strategy. Concepts now evolve to reality at unprecedented speeds. Imagine the acceleration potential for smaller, agile teams if even Shopify experiences a tenfold increase.
6. Bots Over Bodies: Organizational charts are being redrawn to include AI bots alongside human employees, fundamentally shifting strategic planning and resource allocation.
7. AI Literacy as Fundamental as Coding Literacy: Shopify equates proficiency in prompting and evaluating AI outputs with traditional coding literacy. Mastery in these areas will define future career trajectories.
8. AI as Infrastructure: The memo emphasizes that AI isn’t merely an add-on; it’s integral infrastructure. Teams that internalize this will build more robust, adaptive, and future-proof businesses.
9. Greater Impact Per Person: The central theme is clear—AI significantly boosts individual productivity. Shopify’s proactive stance suggests an inevitable shift across industries within the next two years.
10. Immediate Action Required: The urgency is unmistakable. Businesses must adapt quickly or face obsolescence. AI integration is not a future concern; it’s today’s imperative.

And Shopify isn’t alone, In chatting with Liza Adams, one of the Top 50 CMOs To Watch, she told me, “When I helped transform a lean marketing team into a 45-member human-AI powerhouse, it started as an all-human team. By January, they were working alongside 20 AI teammates. Today, they’ve scaled to 35+ AI collaborators integrated into real workflows. We achieved up to 75% faster content creation, 35% better campaign performance, 98% lead qualification accuracy, and 100% AI adoption in six months.”

What Did Shopify Get Wrong?

Shopify’s AI manifesto is ambitious—and in many ways, spot on. It captures the urgency and transformational power of AI with clarity: AI as infrastructure, AI-first prototyping, and prompting as a core skill are all concepts I wholeheartedly support. These ideas reflect a world where speed, intelligence, and innovation are the new competitive edge. As someone who’s worked across tech revolutions, I can tell you—Shopify’s memo reads like a call to action. But in our excitement, we also need to ensure that we’re not overreaching before reality can catch up.

Where the vision gets murky is in treating AI agents as “teammates” with responsibilities and accountability. While the narrative shift is important, AI doesn’t yet have the legal or ethical capacity to truly co-own outcomes. And when we start quantifying AI usage as a measure of employee value, we risk encouraging AI theater instead of business impact. Productivity isn’t about how many prompts you write—it’s about results. Likewise, “bots over bodies” may sound efficient, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the magic that only humans bring: emotional intelligence, ethical reasoning, and creativity that can’t be modeled.

That kind of clarity matters. But direction alone doesn’t drive transformation—it has to be backed by support, systems, and space to grow. It also takes empathy. Helping people thrive with AI in their current roles is important, but so is helping them build durable, future-ready skills. Companies that invest in AI upskilling aren’t just boosting today’s performance—they’re laying the foundation for tomorrow’s leadership. The real winners in this AI-first world will be the organizations that empower people to rise alongside the machines, not race against them.

Blockchain + AI: The Next Frontier for Innovation Like Shopify

This transformation mirrors what’s happening at the intersection of blockchain and AI. Forward-thinking crypto projects are no longer simply creating tokens or basic smart contracts—they’re developing AI-enhanced decentralized systems that can evolve and adapt to market conditions while maintaining the immutable trust layer blockchain provides. Blockchain and AI are stronger together.

Consider how DeFi platforms are now incorporating AI agents to optimize yield strategies, analyze on-chain data for enhanced security, and provide personalized financial recommendations while preserving user privacy. These aren’t just incremental improvements—they represent a fundamental reimagining of what’s possible when decentralized systems gain intelligence.

The combination of transparent, trustless blockchain infrastructure with adaptive, learning AI systems creates a powerful synergy that’s greater than the sum of its parts. Organizations that understand and leverage both technologies will have a significant competitive advantage in the coming years.

A Challenge to My Team (and Yours!) Compliments of Shopify

The Shopify memo didn’t just echo my experiences—it amplified them. Inspired by this convergence. I challenged my team to have at least one AI agent supporting your role. No matter if you’re in insurance analyzing customer data, in crypto decoding market fluctuations, or in any industry at all—adopting an AI-first mindset is not just strategic; it’s essential.

Reflecting on my journey, I’m convinced that embracing AI doesn’t diminish our humanity—it enhances it. AI enables us to dive deeper into the human elements of our work, fostering innovation, strategic thinking, and meaningful engagement.

In fact, embracing AI helped me and my team discover new ways of working collaboratively, shifting our focus from mundane tasks to truly meaningful activities. AVA facilitated deeper conversations, smarter decisions, and more impactful outcomes, proving AI’s value beyond productivity gains—it helped reshape our culture towards continuous innovation and learning.

AI First for Everyone – A Manifesto Like Shopify

If your business is still treating AI as an afterthought, it’s time for a mindset shift. The future will belong to those who recognize AI not just as a useful technology, but as a trusted colleague integral to their operations.

Integrating AI intelligently isn’t about losing our humanity, but about empowering it. The question is no longer whether you should invite AI into your workflow.

The real question is, how soon can you welcome AI onto your team like Shopify has?

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