Generation AI: The Rise of The Resilient Entrepreneur

By Katerina Thomas

Scholar and entrepreneur Katerina Thomas PhD offers her insights on why you need to invest in your well-being, emotional resilience and creativity to be able to survive and thrive in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). In Generation AI: The Rise of the Resilient Entrepreneur, she uses insights garnered from nearly 15 years of professional work as a tertiary educator and her experience as a businesswoman to argue for the importance of creativity, personal resiliency and entrepreneurship skills as a path to staying relevant in the age of intelligent algorithmic systems.

We are moving to a more digitised, AI-driven world, and keeping up with the pace of change will put additional pressures on our mental health. What’s clear is that there will be winners but most likely many more losers – not just among low- and middle-skilled workers but also among high-skilled professions. Companies will use algorithmic intelligent machines to search for emotionally resilient and creative ‘superstars’. However, there is no guarantee that newly created jobs will remain unaffected as AI technology gains momentum.

Now, Thomas argues, there is still time to build emotional resilience so you can prepare yourself for the unemployment tsunami. Part investigation and part playbook for the future, Generation AI: The Rise of the Resilient Entrepreneur explains why to stay relevant, many will turn to entrepreneurship. However, given the emotional challenges associated with building a business, building mental strength and resilience will become paramount. Only resilient and adaptive people who can think in unpredictable and creative ways will be able to benefit from the forthcoming rapid technological advancements and ride the next entrepreneurial wave.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katerina Thomas
• Release date: May 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781838455514

Katerina Thomas

Katerina Thomas is an entrepreneur, writer and scholar in the fields of innovation, entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial resilience. Katerina has a special interest in cognitive–behavioural therapy and disruptive technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence. An educational professional by day and writer and mentor by night, she received her PhD in philosophy from Aston University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.Katerina’s mission is to teach business owners the critical action steps needed to build entrepreneurial resilience, survive business challenges, and use powerful strategies to review, reinvent and relaunch their businesses. She hosts the Mental Wealth for Entrepreneurs podcast, which is all about building entrepreneurial resilience and approaches to mental well-being. The podcast explores authentic stories of entrepreneurs about their ups and downs on their entrepreneurial journeys and also challenges and combats the stigma around mental health – all tied together by Katerina’s mission to help people become resilient entrepreneurs.When she is not writing, teaching or podcasting, Katerina spends most of her time teaching and reading to her son, and walking in the countryside. An avid nature fanatic, she feeds her addiction by going for long walks in nature parks and forests with her son and two Italian Greyhound dogs on weekends.

Book preview

Foreword by Andrea A. Smith

Generation AI: The Rise of the Resilient Entrepreneur by Katerina Thomas PhD is an excellent read. It discusses how to adapt to the changing economy and has some really insightful ideas about the future. I met Katerina at a KPI event and we immediately formed a friendship. I was then interviewed on her podcast and we had a great conversation. Our discussions were in-depth, and it gave me a chance to learn more about her work on artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of work. I had heard of AI but never really explored it. So, I found it really intriguing to learn how the future will be shaped by resilient entrepreneurs.

As a stress coach, I understand the importance of resilience. It's important because it gives people the strength needed to overcome hardship. People who don't have resilience sometimes get easily overwhelmed by their circumstances. They may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, like drugs and alcohol, to deal with it. If you find yourself chronically overwhelmed, it might be because you lack resilience. This usually means that you're trying to tackle too many things at once, and without a plan for how to actually accomplish these tasks.

The book is about how to stay relevant in an ever-changing world. The author uses research evidence and professional experiences to provide insights on the topic.

As a Stress Buster and Coach, I've seen many people battle with fear of being irrelevant throughout their life. This is a deeply rooted fear that many don't realize that they have. The emergence of AI and robots taking over jobs is a very serious issue. It may be the scariest thing they have ever encountered, but it's important for people to adjust their mindset to keep up with the new technology.

Today, the change is fast paced and limitless. The future is not certain, and our wellbeing and identity is at risk. But we must look into the future and explore what that means for our society. Being resilient and having entrepreneurial skills can help you stay relevant and successful in a constantly changing world. Many people have told me that they are not tech-savvy, but the truth is that they will have to get used to this technological change if they want to be successful in the future. They should start preparing themselves for this now.

This book works on 3 levels. The book demystifies AI and introduces you to the complexity of it. It's never glorifying AI, but it helps you realise the need to actively (not blindly) accept change. It provides a detailed and nuanced understanding of what is still a very new area to most people. The book is a deep dive into the true meaning of resilience. It will make you see that an entrepreneurial approach to problem solving is liberating and rewarding.

As an entrepreneur myself, I know how difficult it is to keep up with trends. As a person committed to reinvention, I know how important it is to stay on top of what's going on in the world. I am someone who has been pummelled through life, but I have come out the other side stronger than ever. I've dealt with a challenging time in my recent past. I was abandoned by my husband in New Zealand and had to take care of my two children on my own. And I had to reinvent myself as a resilient entrepreneur.

I had to learn to bounce back from adversity. I had to find that inner strength and resilience to push through the challenges of going back to university as a mature adult and obtaining my second degree and Masters in Psychology, whilst working two jobs.

This book had a huge impact on me because I know that anyone's life can change at any given moment. Your life and the economic landscape may change at any given moment and you will have to adapt. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get ahead in life, be successful and prosperous. It's also a good read for young entrepreneurs, people trying to find meaning in their lives, and anyone who enjoys the written word.

Andrea A. Smith

Stress Coach - MSc Psych

Why I Wrote This Book

In 2017, as a researcher with experience of running two businesses, I was asked to present an introductory talk at Global Entrepreneurship Week on a topic of my choice. I didn’t know what to present at first, but I ultimately chose to speak about automation and its effect on jobs.

A few years earlier, I had travelled to Malta as a researcher to learn how to bridge education and the skills demands of the workplace, and I was aware of the central importance of the topic of automation and how employers’ requirements in this area were not being fulfilled by providers of education. What I have learned since has not only changed my perception of education but also opened my mind to what the future might hold.

In my professional life, I have given talks to undergraduate and postgraduate students, managers, corporate clients and educators on the topics of strategy, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. But my talk on the meaning of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of jobs generated a lot of questions and interest that day.

‘Are robots really coming for my job?’ participants asked.

The answer is evident. Corporations around the world have been automating their business, technology by technology, process by process. Rapid advances in robotics, Big Data and AI have begun disrupting entire industries and technology, with obvious effects on jobs and people. Lured by the prospect of sizeable productivity gains, these ‘smart’ companies have been accelerating the adoption of intelligent algorithms.

The media has long warned that robots and AI would replace millions of workers around the world, and the UN has projected that robots will destabilise the world. Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare.

In addition, the late Professor Stephen Hawking warned that AI will prove to be ‘either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity’ and we may become the victims of an extinction-level catastrophe.

A report by the International Bar Association (IBA) claims that if jobs were under threat from breakthroughs in AI and robotics, then one way to protect jobs would be to force governments to legislate for quotas of human workers. Gerlind Wisskirchen, IBA Global Employment Institute vice chair for multinationals, points out that ‘jobs at all levels in society presently undertaken by humans are at risk of being reassigned to robots or AI, and the legislation once in place to protect the rights of human workers may be no longer fit for purpose’.

There is something unpleasant, even unsettling, about sci-fi books and movies that resemble our reality. We are more comfortable watching dystopian, futuristic sci-fi that depicts a fantastical society, such as in Blade Runner or Ready Player One, because we can view it through a mental lens or filter. We are okay with it exactly because it shows us a dystopian future.

I don’t have a crystal ball, but I see one possible future – a future without a meaningful job for many people. And this troubles me because people need meaningful work to have a sense of fulfilment and purpose in life. A meaningful job or occupation can provide people with a psychological sense of well-being and identity.

While some optimists claim that AI will create more jobs than it destroys, it seems to me that they are misleading us. And the price we’ll pay for being so short-sighted is very high indeed.

Throughout my professional life as an academic and entrepreneur, I’ve gained insights into what technology adoption really means for folks like you and me – and this is something you need to consider.

Will you remain a fulfilled member of society and an individual with purpose in a world overrun by robots and AI?

My rationale for writing the book you are holding now is to provide a concise but comprehensive research-based outline of the challenges we’re facing. It is my hope that this book will help you to understand the far-reaching consequences of AI’s disruption for your life and the lives of your children.

But why do we need