🌪️ AI of the storm
Shopify and Canva are among a number of tech companies that are fully embracing AI in the workplace. But what does that mean for their employees?
Tobias Lütke just said the quiet part out loud. An internal memo from the Shopify CEO, leaked yesterday, instructed staff to "hire an AI before you hire a human", crystallising a sentiment that's been building in the tech industry for months.
In Australia, this shift isn't new. Some of the country's biggest startups have been at the forefront of making artificial intelligence an integral part of the way we work.
In February, HR software unicorn Employment Hero instructed all 1,500 staff to use AI in problem-solving efforts, according to internal documents. "If we don't, others will and we will get steamrolled by our AI-powered competitors who are more effective and more efficient than us," CEO Ben Thompson wrote to staff at the time, framing AI adoption as non-negotiable for the company's future.
Canva, our homegrown design darling, has also been building an experimental AI ecosystem for its staff since mid-2024. A spokesperson told Capital Brief earlier in the year that the company had an internal AI School and AI-101 sessions for all new hires. It's use of AI was also recently highlighted by Anthropic in a case study.
