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Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

How AI Is Changing Management at Work: From AI Assistant to AI Chief of Staff with Erkang Zheng

August 31, 2026 • Chris Daigle

0:00 | 47:06

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AI may automate more execution, but that makes judgment, coordination, and management more important. In this episode Chris sits down with Erkang “Ken” Zheng, founder and CEO of Ariso, to explore why the next major opportunity for AI at work is not simply producing more content, but helping people manage work more effectively.

Ken explains why every knowledge worker increasingly needs management skills, including tracking, prioritization, communication, accountability, and reflection. He also breaks down Ariso’s distributed approach to the “company brain,” the role of an AI chief of staff, and how individual AI partners can improve coordination while preserving access controls and privacy. Listen to understand how leaders can use AI to strengthen the management layer of work as execution becomes increasingly automated.

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction
(04:37) Why Everyone Is a Manager Now
(06:25) The Work Around the Work
(08:28) Management Skills That Matter More With AI
(11:59) Rethinking the AI Company Brain
(14:48) Building the Company Brain From the Individual Up
(19:18) When an AI Intelligence Layer Starts Making Sense
(23:43) What an AI Chief of Staff Should Actually Do
(29:19) How Ariso Differs From DIY AI Agents
(38:11) How Quickly Teams Can See Value From AI

Resources:

🔎 Find Out More About Erkang “Ken” Zheng

Ariso:
https://ariso.ai/

Ariso Blog:
https://ariso.ai/blog

Ariso LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariso-ai

Erkang Zheng on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erkang

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned:

Ariso / Ari:
https://ariso.ai/

ChatGPT:
https://chatgpt.com/

Claude and Claude Code:
https://www.anthropic.com/claude

Fathom:
https://fathom.video/

Fireflies.ai:
https://fireflies.ai/