Employees at the big consulting firms are being told to use AI. Are they going to automate themselves out of a job? On this week’s podcast, Paul and Rich discuss a recent set of directives from the CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers about AI adoption and consider what they frame as the “AI consulting paradox”: To show value, consultants need to introduce AI into their client relationships, potentially cutting their own value as a result. How will consulting manage this transition in the short or long term? Plus: Paul reports on his recent conversations with a New School journalism class that visited the office and shared their feelings about using AI.

Sure, you can build “stuff” with AI, but is anyone paying attention to product these days? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich sit down with someone who is: Hilary Mason, CEO of the immersive online roleplaying game company Hidden Door. After discussing Hilary’s background in data science and machine learning, Paul takes a spin through a game scenario (Brooklyn vampires in a fantasy tavern!) while Hilary outlines the product decisions around Hidden Door’s game mechanics, AI-related or otherwise. Plus: Rich outlines his own attempts to make a game with AI for a family gathering, which, in his words, “led to children crying.”

AI is blurring—and even destroying—the distinctions between disciplines. Do we need a new way to talk about work? On this week’s episode, Paul tests out a few of his AI-era neologisms on a skeptical Rich: Perhaps you are a “custolient,” looking to purchase the services of a “praygency” for your next project? (Yes, Paul insists the “y” in “praygency” is vital.) Are these new blended terms helpful, or just a way of talking around a very uncertain landscape?