AI Is Not a Race. It’s an Infinite Game.

I love the genuine insight that comes from being around the experts, the educated, and the curious about a topic. I recently got that sort of insight at a regional tech conference where people shared opinions and anxieties about AI. Worth the price of admission for sure.

At the conference I identified a difference in how I am looking at AI compared to some others, specifically those with more anxiety. Some seem to be mixing up the concepts of finite and infinite games.

The concept comes from James P. Carse’s book Finite and Infinite Games, which poses the idea that there are two basic ways to approach your challenges and goals in life.

“A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”

James P. Carse, Finite and Infinite Games (1986)

A finite game is played to win. Clear rules are set, with known players, boundaries, a beginning, and an end. In business, this looks like beating competitors, hitting quarterly targets, or winning a contract. The goal is a measurable victory.

An infinite game is played to keep the game going. The rules can, and likely will, change. The players can change. The goal is not final victory but continued participation, growth, and possibility. In business, this looks like adapting to change, strengthening relationships, developing people, and building a durable company that stays relevant over time.

The book suggests that problems arise when people treat long term, open ended pursuits, like leadership, innovation, culture, or business itself, as if they were short contests with a final winner.

AI is an infinite game

The finite mindset sees AI as a box to mark off.

“We trained the staff on AI, so we are done.” “We bought the software, so now we are winning.” “We do not have AI yet, so now we must be losing.”

That way of thinking creates unnecessary anxiety because it treats AI like a race with a clear finish line. But there is no final AI tool, no final software platform, and no final training session that prepares a business forever.

A better determining factor is not simply, “Do you have AI?” Rather: Will you change and adapt when needed? Will you keep changing and adapting, taking advantage of what is next?

The infinite AI game

This frame of thinking has AI, technology, and software creating excitement similar to a hero arriving on the scene to help put out the fire.

Because fires are always burning in a business. Some are big. Some are small. But they are fires nonetheless. The difference is whether you are surprised by them every time, or whether you are expecting change and already asking, “How can we use this to our advantage?”

New regulations come out? That can become a marketing opportunity to explain the pros and cons to customers and show how your business implemented the change thoughtfully.

Keeping your website up to date also comes with benefits when you stop treating it like an emergency sprint. It prevents wrong information from ruining a sale. It creates space for self service resources that improve customer satisfaction. It keeps contact information accurate so the right opportunity can actually reach you. Like when the New York Times contacts you for a story.

The New York Times example is a real story of a missed opportunity, by the way. A major opportunity from one of the nation’s top newspapers was lost simply because the right information was not current or easy to find.

A new AI tool, technology, or software platform appears? Great. Which time consuming tasks can it help with first? Where can it give the team time back? Where can that saved time create better service, better sales, or added revenue?

And training still matters. But for an infinite player, training is not a one time emergency. It is already part of the rhythm of the business. Sometimes the training is skill building around sales, service, communication, or time management. Other times it shifts to something urgent, like a new tool or process. Either way, the company is already in the habit of learning. Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index found that 75% of knowledge workers already use AI at work, most of them bringing their own tools; the infinite player makes that learning deliberate instead of accidental.

AI anxiety is something you can plan ahead for so everything does not stop and go, red light, green light. Instead, the developments of AI and tech become ingrained naturally into the business.

In the long run, the amount of anxiety you feel around AI may be close to the amount of opportunity you could unlock by changing how you play.

At the very least, you need to be playing.