Conversations about artificial intelligence's role in society and the workplace are heating up, so what does AI mean for you and your career? There are many things to consider as you navigate determining career goals. Here are six smart ways to stay ahead of the curve.

1. Research: This may be obvious, but AI is a tool. You have to acquire knowledge in order to maximize your experience with the various new tools that are emerging. Spend time learning about how to use AI. 

2. Play: Experiment with language prompts and interacting with AI in order to achieve results that will be useful to achieving your goal. Consider these 35 people and their virtual sandboxes ranging from meal planning to designing parts for a spaceship.

3. Understand its limits: Use AI technology for research. But, create your own solutions and employ lateral reading for fact checking, gleaning new insights and going beyond what AI can give you. Creative thinking and thought leadership will matter, even as the use of AI increases.

4. Be Wayne Gretzky: "I skate to where the puck is going," he once said. Actively build new skills, take courses, become certified in technological fields like AI, programming, cloud computing and generative design.

5. Automate: Use an AI agent, like Auto-GPT, to help you start and grow a business. Or consider the specific needs of your position, identify laborious and repetitive tasks and learn to automate them using an AI agent and focus on the tasks that require creativity and critical thinking (What is Auto-GPT and why are hustle bros hype for it?).

6. Research what institutions are offering: Consider college programs carefully. Explore the benefits of your current company (and identify companies) to see how employers support reskilling, upskilling and protections for their employees. 

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