An employee at a Japanese financial services company was given a labor-intensive task \u2014 modify an enormous spreadsheet of data manually, using a mind-numbing repetitive process. It would have taken days.<\/p>\n
He chose instead to combine some AI and automation tools \u2014 available in the company for anyone to use \u2014 and completed the task in an hour.<\/p>\n
Was he praised for his innovative ingenuity and initiative?<\/p>\n
Far from it.<\/p>\n
His colleagues were angered that he demonstrated how their jobs could possibly be replaced \u2014 or how he made it more difficult to justify overtime pay, which many rely on to supplement their income. His managers were annoyed that he did not seek permission before using a more efficient method. He was sternly reprimanded. He was so universally pilloried that he began to question his own mental stability and his perception of the world, because he could not understand what he did wrong. He sought the help of a mental health professional. The professional assured him he is not crazy.<\/p>\n
So what the hell is going on?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An employee at a Japanese financial services company was given a labor-intensive task \u2014 modify an enormous spreadsheet of data manually, using a mind-numbing repetitive process. It would have taken days. He chose instead to combine some AI and automation tools \u2014 available in the company for anyone to use \u2014 and completed the task in an hour. Was he praised for his innovative ingenuity and initiative? Far from it. His colleagues were angered that he demonstrated how their jobs could possibly be replaced \u2014 or how he made it more difficult to justify overtime pay, which many rely on to supplement their income. His managers were annoyed that he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5163,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/GZ-E20-Luddism-20260614-16.52.mp3","transcript_file":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-14-transcript-japans-luddism-toward-ai.txt","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:08:39","filesize":"11.88M","filesize_raw":"12453220","date_recorded":"2026-06-14 17:05:48","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":""},"tags":[],"series":[446],"class_list":["post-5649","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-the-growth-zone"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/growthzone-600x600-1.webp","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Podcast-Cover-copy-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/podcast-download\/5649\/japans-luddism-toward-ai-is-a-leadership-trust-problem-not-a-technological-one","player_link":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/podcast-player\/5649\/japans-luddism-toward-ai-is-a-leadership-trust-problem-not-a-technological-one","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/ja\/feed\/podcast\/the-growth-zone","embedCode":"
Japan’s Luddism Toward AI Is a Leadership Trust Problem, Not a Technological One<\/a><\/blockquote>