Proven Podcast: "Google DeepMind Insider: You Won’t Survive the AI-First Economy, unless... - Steve Brown"

Host: Charles Schwartz
Guest: Steve Brown (AI Futurist, former Intel & Google DeepMind)
Release Date: February 11, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of the Proven Podcast features Steve Brown, an AI futurist and former strategist at both Intel and Google DeepMind. Steve discusses how artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing business, work, and competitive dynamics. The core message: Organizations that do not become "AI-first" will not survive the coming tidal wave of transformation. The conversation blends honest warnings with actionable insights, historical context, and practical guidance—addressing both the wholesale fear and legitimate opportunities brought by rapid AI advancements.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Does a Futurist Actually Do?

[01:31–02:54]

• Steve's Approach:
  • Futurists don’t predict the future. They analyze trends—technological, business, societal—and envision what will be possible as those trends collide.
  • The two core questions: What future do we want to build? What future do we want to avoid? ("They're flip sides of the same coin, but they're both important questions to address." [02:29 – Steve])
• Example: Social media’s designers didn’t consider the negative futures they might create—an error to avoid with AI.

2. AI and the Fear of Job Extinction

[02:54–05:19]

• Is AI killing jobs? Short/medium term: no—but only if leaders shift perspective.
• Old Mindset vs. New Opportunity:
  • If leaders just automate to cut costs, harms dominate.
  • "Stop thinking about growing my company 10, 20, 30 percent... now I’m trying to grow 10x or 20x... using AI as the engine and wrapping my people around it, leaving scarcity behind." (Steve [04:15])
• The right use of AI is about amplifying human capital, not replacing it.

3. The Tidal Wave of AI Progress

[05:59–08:29]

• "Today's robots and AI are the worst they'll ever be—they only get better from here." (Charles paraphrasing Steve [05:19])
• Notable Cases:
  • Google’s Co-Scientist: Solved a medical mystery (why MRSA spreads) in two days; scientists took a decade.
  • DeepMind’s AlphaFold: Protein structures decoded in seconds, revolutionizing medical research.
    • "It was a PhD of one person spending four to five years of their life... now able to do it in seconds, accurately." (Steve [07:18])

4. Becoming AI-First: Where to Start

[09:33–13:13]

• Most companies dabble: buying enterprise Copilot licenses etc.—just scratching the surface.
• Key Thought Exercise: "Imagine an AI-native competitor coming after you. How would you fight them if you left and joined them? What would you build from scratch if you knew all that AI can do?" (Steve [10:00])
• Analogy: When Amazon disrupted retail, incumbents adapted by becoming "Internet-first"; with AI, you must aim to become "AI-first" to avoid extinction.

5. The AI-First Pivot: Practical Steps

[13:13–20:55]

• Let Go of the Past: Blockbuster vs. Netflix—don’t cling to outdated models.
• Three Buckets for AI-First:
  1. Amplify People: "If my best employee could be everywhere all at once, what would that unlock?"
     • Use AI agents (offload, elevate, and extend agents) to mirror and magnify human capabilities.
     • Generative design example: Human + AI collaboration in engineering allows for exploring thousands more options, radically accelerating innovation.
  2. Create Abundance: Collapse time/cost barriers—free up resources for greater impact.
  3. Stop Defending, Start Creating: Don’t just defend legacy businesses—use AI to develop new solutions and markets.
     • "Stop defending your existing business and start thinking about how do I develop new businesses." (Steve [20:55])

6. Overcoming Resistance, Building Acumen

[22:38–27:28]

• The real challenge: Most leaders don’t know what to do or aren’t willing to change.
  • "For those who do want to change... How do we educate staff? How do we survive?" (Charles [22:15])
• Steve’s resources: Online course for execs; book "The AI Ultimatum".
• History: AI isn’t new—spam filters, postal code recognizers, and assortment planning in retail have all been AI-powered for many years.

7. Jobs & Industries on the Brink

[28:29–32:25]

• At risk in the coming decade:
  • Accounting
  • Driving (trucks, taxis)
  • Paralegals
  • Any role based on knowledge transmission/routine tasks
• "Accountants are very smart people mostly... why are they doing work that can be automated? Those people could show up in society in new ways." (Steve [29:00])
• Transition from replacement to evolution—use AI to amplify performance rather than see it as a purge.

8. Tangible Transformation Stories

[32:13–34:18]

• Real-world example: An accountant used AI to match clients with cost segregation opportunities, transforming their role into a wealth creator and multiplying business value.
  • "He evolved from just being an accountant to being a wealth creator." (Charles [32:45])
• The biggest threat isn't AI itself, but humans "with an AI-first company to come after you and eat your lunch." (Steve [32:13])

9. Most Important First Step: Build Your AI Acumen

[34:18–36:06]

• Don’t just deploy ChatGPT licenses. The best move is boosting your and your team's understanding of AI’s potential.
  • "If you want to be a good leader, you have to show up completely differently in this moment. And that means you have to understand what's going on." (Steve [35:18])
• Try tools, get your mind blown, and lead by example.

10. Favorite Tools and Underused Gems

[36:43–39:54]

• For Coders: OpenAI, Apple, ServiceNow—all-in on AI-based coding tools, creating 10x more software, not just replacing programmers.
• For Creators: Opus Clip (video snipping), Google Notebook (summarizes content), Nanobanana Pro (slides), Google Slides AI features (beautification).
  • These collapse time and boost individual performance.

11. The Long-Term AI Future: Opportunity & Peril

[40:55–45:29]

• Good News: AI could free humanity from the "work era" into an age of abundance and service, where self-actualization and collective good are possible.
  • Star Trek vs. Terminator: "That is within grasp... maybe in the 2040s." (Steve [44:51])
• Bad News: "To get there, you have to go through a major adjustment and we all have to let go of our lives as we know it. It's going to be incredibly disruptive." (Steve [44:56])
  • Rewiring the economy is a monumental challenge.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "A futurist doesn’t make predictions... It’s about understanding what will be possible in a certain timeframe."
  — Steve Brown [01:58]
• "If leaders stay stuck in a 20th century mindset... yeah, it’s not a happy ending."
  — Steve Brown [04:30]
• "AI is as bad as it’s ever going to be. Robots are as incapable as they’re ever going to be. They’re just going to get better and better from here."
  — Steve Brown [23:32]
• "Most people worry about being replaced by AI. What you’re going to be replaced by is other humans who’ve built an AI-first company to come after you and eat your lunch."
  — Steve Brown [32:13]
• "If you want to be a good leader, you have to show up completely differently in this moment. And that means you have to understand what’s going on."
  — Steve Brown [35:18]
• "The opportunity with AI... is to free people to self-actualize at any level they wish... service, exploration, whatever your thing is."
  — Steve Brown [42:00]
• "To get there, you have to go through a major adjustment and we all have to let go of our lives as we know it. And it's going to be incredibly disruptive."
  — Steve Brown [44:56]

Important Timestamps

• [01:31] What a futurist really does
• [03:17] The employee extinction fear — myth or reality?
• [05:59] Medical AI turning 10 years into 2 days, 4 years into seconds
• [09:33] AI-native vs. AI-first companies: a thought exercise for business leaders
• [13:13] How to pivot to an AI-first organization
• [15:13] Agentic AI: offload, elevate, and extend agents
• [20:55] Stop defending the past, start building the future
• [24:53] The exponential progress of AI—gigabyte Gmail analogy
• [27:28] Everyday AI examples to calm the fears
• [28:29] Jobs and industries most at risk over the next decade
• [32:13] The real competitive threat—AI-first humans
• [36:43] Favorite AI tools across industries
• [40:55] Star Trek or Terminator? Humanity’s possible next phase
• [44:56] The disruptive adjustment ahead

Where to Learn More & Next Steps

• Steve Brown’s website: stevebrown.ai
• Book: "The AI Ultimatum" (Amazon)
• For business leaders: Invest personally in building AI understanding, try new tools, and start re-imagining your business from an AI-first mindset.

Tone & Takeaways

• The conversation is direct, sometimes humorous, always action-oriented.
• The warning is clear: disruption is not coming, it’s here—and the difference between surviving and thriving is who pivots to AI-first (and who doesn’t).
• Final advice:
  “Stop fearing disruption. Start building with it. While others debate what’s coming, you could be learning how to use it. Remember, if your strategy ignores technology, it was never built to win.” (Charles [46:59])