How have you balanced the benefits of AI with acceptable use and data privacy concerns?

Balancing the good and bad of AI is incredibly important, and something I think about regularly for what we build and launch at Asana.

How that plays into our marketing plans really comes down to a few key themes:

1. Ethics for a "human-centered" approach: think about the ethics or principles for AI that you want your customers to know as they evaluate your AI solutions. Ex: Before we even built anything at Asana, we established a set of "human-centered" principles that grounds everything we do—from ensuring customers are always in the driver seat to the standards we hold our partners to, and much more.

2. Think global, act local: with any fast-paced innovations, it's easy to get caught up in a "one-size-fits-all" approach but 1) that's not scalable and 2) it will not help you achieve the goals you care about. After learning this the harder way early on in my career, I now have regular touchpoints with teams across the globe to understand what is & isn't resonating in different geos/markets. We're then able to apply an AI maturity model assessment to inform our campaigns & messaging so we're treating each region in a more targeted way.

3. Be transparent & upfront: I've found that the more we can share with customers upfront, the more their minds are at ease with what AI can do. Don't make them go hunting for the common information they're looking for. Being transparent & upfront will lead to more productive conversations, especially when it's coupled with a "tiger team" of experts who can help address data/privacy concerns.

4. Listen to your customers: I'm constantly talking to our customers to understand where they are in the "AI Hype Cycle" and how they're thinking about AI transformation for their business. As a member of our own AI Council, it's equally important to hear from employees on what are their fears, concerns, or learning curves—and all versions of that are okay! It helps us stay close to reality of adoption timelines and think about the solutions we're bringing to market for our customers.

I'm also seeing from industry research that over 30% of knowledge workers are worried that AI will replace or displace their jobs. And while the concern is valid, the real opportunity with AI is that it can help amplify our human skills and give us more time & space to focus on the strategic work we were hired to do. That's at the core of our messaging: seeing AI as more of your teammate that can help you be more creative, strategic, and more intentional with your time.

Transformation doesn't happen overnight but if we embrace it and use it to uplevel our skills, we'll see how it can create new opportunities for us all.