Charting your company’s course toward infinite transformation requires a clear understanding of where your company currently is along what we call the Evolutionary Arc of AI. As of now, there are four distinct stages of evolution in incorporating AI, each with its own set of beliefs about the best approach and implementation practices.
The Four Distinct AI Cultures
In the last few years, terms such as “AI integrated,” “AI first,” and “AI forward” have been thrown around in headlines and in C-suites, boardrooms, and earnings calls. But exactly what is meant by each has been fuzzy at best. Even the term “AI native” has been used in different ways: sometimes to refer specifically to startups established with AI at their core, as we use it, and sometimes to describe a status that established companies are aspiring to evolve into.
The meanings of these terms have slowly been crystallizing as they’re being used to guide leaders in how strategy and investments should drive their AI business transformations. In 2025, Jeremiah Owyang produced a clear set of definitions of four distinct AI cultures that are taking shape: ...
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