Fastcompany iconFastcompanySep 16, 2026 ~1 min source read

AI is supposed to simplify work. Jim VandeHei says it’s doing the opposite

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei makes the case that the antidote isn't a better productivity app, it's a ruthless, three-part system he calls Confront, Delete, Amplify. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges.

AI is supposed to simplify work. Jim VandeHei says it’s doing the opposite

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Axios CEO Jim VandeHei makes the case that the antidote isn't a better productivity app, it's a ruthless, three-part system he calls Confront, Delete, Amplify.

From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges.

I love this phrase you pointed to, a post-processable velocity, that the speed of an AI world is outpacing our ability to comprehend it as humans.

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The useful part

Axios CEO Jim VandeHei makes the case that the antidote isn't a better productivity app, it's a ruthless, three-part system he calls Confront, Delete, Amplify. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today's top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. I love this phrase you pointed to, a post-processable velocity, that the speed of an AI world is outpacing our ability to comprehend it as humans.

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  • I'm just curious how this acceleration of change feels to...

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It's mass-producing more options, more decisions, and more noise. In advance of your book Simplify, you wrote an article this summer about prepping for an Axios board meeting, and you said that even a six-month planning horizon, you realized, was pure fantasy, that everything could change in a month.

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