AI Is the New ‘Culture Fit’: Why You Shouldn’t Swallow the Shopify Memo Hype Without Chewing

When I read the leaked Shopify memo about mandatory AI use, I nearly choked on my coffee. Not because I was shocked—but because people are actually clapping for this.

Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify, wrote that “using AI effectively is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify.” Not just developers. Not analysts. Everyone.

And while tech bros on LinkedIn are treating it like a new commandment from Mount Productivity, I’m over here thinking:

This is not visionary leadership. This is corporate gaslighting with better branding.

Let’s break it down.

“Mandatory AI Proficiency” = Learn It On Your Own Time

There’s no mention of protected learning hours. No budgeted time to train. No allowance for the steep curve some roles will face. But make no mistake—your performance will now be tied to how well you adapt.

Read between the lines:

➡️ We won’t give you time to learn it.
➡️ But we’ll punish you if you don’t.
➡️ And we’ll call it “innovation” to make it sound noble.

This is textbook hustle culture 2.0.

Wrapped in AI. Sprinkled with buzzwords. Served cold to the people who already carry the weight of systems that undervalue them.

“Stagnation Is Failure”? No, Actually—Exploitation Is.

Let me be clear: I’m not anti-AI. I use it every single day. It helps me write, organize, ideate, even decompress.

But when a CEO says “stagnation is slow-motion failure” while offering zero structural support to avoid said failure? That’s not leadership. That’s a threat dressed up in future-of-work language.

Where’s the empathy? The strategic rollout? The actual plan for upskilling across departments?

If you’re telling people to climb, give them a damn ladder.

And Yet… This Is Exactly the Moment We Need to Claim Power

I get why this memo went viral. It's blunt. It sounds decisive. Executives love that energy because they think decisiveness equals strategy.

But for the rest of us—admin professionals, solopreneurs, behind-the-scenes leaders—the takeaway isn’t to blindly accept these mandates.

It’s to wake up to what’s really being said.

The future of work isn’t being handed to you. You’re being told to chase it, unpaid and unprotected.

So here’s what I want for you instead:

🔥 Learn AI—but do it for your benefit first.
🔥 Use tools that actually reduce your workload, not increase your anxiety.
🔥 Track your progress so you can turn “learning” into leverage.
🔥 Say no to tech evangelism that smells like exploitation.

Because yes, the world is changing. But you don’t owe anyone your nights and weekends just to “keep up.”

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Because we’re not here to chase trends. We’re here to set the standard.

Let them write the memos.
We’ll write the future.