Beyond AI: Mariam Gogidze on Cultivating Taste and Navigating Evolving Corporate Structures

In a recent LinkedIn post, Mariam Gogidze delves into the profound questions surrounding human learning and adaptation in an era of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. Rather than offering definitive solutions, Gogidze emphasizes the value of embracing complexity and the questions that arise from it.

The post highlights two key takeaways from a recent discussion, framing them as crucial points for consideration. The first, drawing on the work of Oxford researcher Benedetta Mammi, challenges the common narrative of AI’s threat to human expertise.

The Enduring Value of Human Taste in the Age of AI

Mariam Gogidze introduces Benedetta Mammi’s research, which reframes the impact of AI. Instead of focusing on what human skills might be lost, Mammi’s work probes whether certain human proficiencies could actually gain value due to AI’s capabilities. Gogidze draws a parallel to the historical relationship between photography and painting, suggesting that technological advancements can liberate existing crafts and even foster new artistic movements.

Central to this discussion is the idea that AI, by its nature, operates on averages. Gogidze conveys Mammi’s insight:

AI, at its core, is an average of all the averages. What it can’t touch is TASTE.

As Gogidze elaborates, taste is not an innate quality but a cultivated one, shaped by unique life experiences, personal failures, and individual perspectives. This concept, she argues, has significant implications for personal branding.

In Gogidze’s view, the differentiating factor in today’s professional landscape is no longer mere information, which AI can readily provide. Instead, she points to the power of narrative and lived experience.

According to Gogidze, what truly sets individuals apart is:

the specific texture of someone’s conditioning, their lived experience, the irreducible fact of what only they have been through. that’s the one thing nothing can replicate, because there is only one of you who has lived your life.

This irreducible uniqueness, she suggests, is the core of personal branding and a domain where AI cannot compete.

The Shifting Shape of Organizations and Future Leadership

The second significant point raised by Mariam Gogidze concerns the structural evolution of organizations, referencing insights from Niresh R. Gogidze explains Niresh’s observation that the traditional corporate pyramid is becoming less pronounced, with AI agents potentially taking over many entry-level tasks. This shift leads to organizational structures resembling a diamond more than a pyramid.

Gogidze expresses concern, particularly in her role as an educator at Hult International Business School, about the implications for developing future leaders. She notes that junior roles have historically served as critical training grounds for problem-solving and judgment development.

Mariam Gogidze articulates this concern with a poignant analogy:

you can’t skip the rung and still expect someone to know how to climb.

She questions where the next generation of senior judgment will emerge if the foundational experience of entry-level roles is diminished or bypassed due to AI delegation. The post concludes by expressing gratitude for an evening that yielded more questions than answers, underscoring the value of such intellectual exploration.

Gogidze invites further discussion, asking readers about the skills individuals and institutions should prioritize learning as AI assumes more cognitive tasks.