How AI Has Changed The Way I Think

InnovationHow AI Has Changed The Way I ThinkByPaul Deraval,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 28, 2026, 08:45am EDTPaul Deraval, Cofounder & CEO of NinjaCat, is a software veteran with 20+ years driving innovation in martech, AI and agency growth. getty​Building and experimenting with AI has changed how I think in ways I never expected. Not simply how I approach technology issues, but regarding work, leadership and what it actually means to solve a problem.At first, like most people, I treated AI as a tool. Something to layer into existing workflows to make them faster, cheaper or more convenient. But that framing breaks down quickly. The moment you start working closely with AI agents, you realize that the real shift isn’t what the technology can do, but how it forces you to rethink your approach to problems in the first place.Here are five ways AI has fundamentally changed my thought process.Start With End State, Not ProcessI used to approach problems by asking: How do we improve or automate what already exists? That instinct doesn’t hold up anymore. Now, I start with a different question: What’s the most ambitious version of this outcome I can imagine? Not how we do it today, but what “done right” actually looks like.There was a weekend when I made over 75 commits to a side project, not grinding away at my desk, but delegating work to AI between gym sets and cleaning out my garage. I wasn’t thinking about the steps. I was thinking about the outcome, and then letting the machine handle the path. That shift alone changes everything. You stop optimizing workflows and start redefining them.Learn To Prove, Not Just SayOne of the most unexpected changes has been how I lead. There was a time when you could simply tell your people about an idea for the business and get buy-in. That doesn’t work anymore. T...