Leadership and AI
We can reach out and humanize distant tomorrows.”
Alvin Toffler. (1970). Future Shock.
The opening quote comes from the last sentence of futurist and author Alvin Toffler. In the book, he explores the impact that the various waves of technology have had and will continue to have on our world, cultures (including organizational culture), and our lives. After nearly 500 pages of writing, the conclusion is that we need to “humanize distant tomorrows.” While ‘distant’ might mean a long time in the future, time is relative. If you are on vacation for a month, the ‘distant’ concept might seem far from your present moment. On the other hand, if your workweek ends on Friday, the ‘distant’ moment could be next Monday.
Technology almost always has a transformative effect. Unfortunately, when we think of transformation, we often assume it’s a positive change. Of course, depending on the technology, its alignment with the organization’s priorities, the employees’ skill sets, the purpose of the deployment, and the level of training provided, the use of technology can also be negative, even destructive. Here’s the rub. It usually requires human input for the deployment to occur.
In January 2020, this author wrote an article titled “The Transition Decade” for Careers in Government. The article reflected on where we might be heading as the dawn of the third decade of the 2000s approached. It posed three questions.
- How do you become the best version of yourself on a daily basis?
- As the third decade of this century begins, where will you be in the year 2030, personally, professionally, spiritually, financially?
- How do you remain relevant, especially in your professional life, in a new decade?
Given that we are now halfway through this third decade, it is perhaps worthwhile to pause and reflect again on these questions about change in this ‘Transition Decade’. Whatever your answers are now, two things need consideration. To stay on top of everything and ensure your wellbeing and personal and professional flourishing, a Personal Plan is a necessity. This Personal Plan focuses on the following 6 (Six) key areas of a person’s life.
THE ‘6 KEY AREAS’ ARE:
- Family / Friends
- Health / Well-Being
- Study–Formal / Informal
- Career
- Wealth Creation
- Inner-Life and Well-Being
Feel free to use this template of the Personal Plan.
What this enables, of course, is for a person to start flourishing as a human being.
“…flourishing, however conceived, would, at the very least, require doing or being well in the following five broad domains of human life: (i) happiness and life satisfaction; (ii) health, both mental and physical; (iii) meaning and purpose; (iv) character and virtue; and (v) close social relationships. All are arguably at least a part of what we mean by flourishing. Each of these domains arguably also satisfies the following two criteria: (i) Each domain is generally viewed as an end in itself, and (ii) each domain is nearly universally desired.”
(VanderWeele, Tyler. J. (2017). On the Promotion of Human Flourishing. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 31:8148-8156). Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences. p8149.
One ever-present force for change that should be considered under each of these headings is Artificial Intelligence (AI). On its current growth trajectory, it would be naive to think AI isn’t pervasive and invasive across: Family / Friends (relationships broadly), Health / Well-Being, Study-Formal / Informal, Career, Wealth Creation, Inner-Life, and Well-Being. Similarly, AI can also impact the Flourishing scales, both positively and negatively. In theory, if AI frees people from mundane tasks, then we have more opportunities to work on a ‘Flourishing’ life.
Hardly a day goes by without someone mentioning AI or using it in some form or another in their daily or work life. With this in mind, it would be fair to suggest that for most people, their experience of AI is largely limited to ChatGPT, CoPilot, Google AI, Claude, Siri, etc. According to the IBM Data and AI Team:
“Early iterations of the AI applications we interact with most today were built on traditional machine learning models…For example, Apple made Siri a feature of its iOS in 2011. This early version of Siri was trained to understand a set of highly specific statements and requests. Human intervention was required to expand Siri’s knowledge base and functionality.”
(IBM Data and AI Team. (2024). Understanding the Different Types of Artificial Intelligence.
According to IBM, there are three types of AI, based on capability. These are:
- Artificial Narrow AI (or Weak AI): Artificial Narrow Intelligence, also known as Weak AI (what we refer to as Narrow AI), is the only type of AI that exists today. Any other form of AI is theoretical. It can be trained to perform a single or narrow task, often far faster and better than a human mind can. However, it can’t perform outside of its defined task. Instead, it targets a single subset of cognitive abilities and advances in that spectrum. Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and IBM Watson® are examples of Narrow AI.
- General AI: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), also known as Strong AI, is today nothing more than a theoretical concept. AGI can use previous learnings and skills to accomplish new tasks in a different context without the need for human beings to train the underlying models. This ability allows AGI to learn and perform any intellectual task that a human being can.
- Super AI: Super AI is commonly referred to as artificial super-intelligence and, like AGI, is strictly theoretical. If ever realized, Super AI would think, reason, learn, make judgements and possess cognitive abilities that surpass those of human beings.
(IBM Data and AI Team. (2024). Understanding the Different Types of Artificial Intelligence
While not all of these are consistently available at present, it is only a matter of ‘distant’ time, which may not be that distant. The intervening period may well be an opportunity to overcome the perceived threat of AI, so that rather than being a weakness in your CV, it becomes a strength. One issue in the recruitment space is the use of AI-generated, generic cover letters that are submitted with very little adaptation to the applicant’s personal circumstances.
In terms of the culture of the organization, AI will have an impact, and that can be positive or negative or, more likely, both. According to the MIT Emeritus Professor Edgar H. Schein:
“The culture of a group can be defined as the accumulated shared learning of that group as it solves its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, feel, and behave in relation to those problems. This accumulated learning is a pattern or system of beliefs, values, and behavioral norms that come to be taken for granted as basic assumptions and eventually drop out of awareness.”
(Schein, Edgar. H., Schein, Peter. (2017). Organizational Culture and Leadership (5th Edition) (eBooK). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Ch 1, p32 of 489.
Technology almost always has a transformative effect. Unfortunately, when we think of transformation, we often assume it’s a positive change.
While AI has the potential to free staff from ‘Business as Usual’ activities, allowing them to focus on other matters of perceived strategic importance, the reverse could also happen. Consider that AI agents can be built to: scan, collate, curate, and coalesce complex information from research around the world and suggest new approaches from this synthesis. Such analysis has led to new types of antibiotics that are superbug-resistant, and other advances have opened up new avenues of research in oncology. Of course, in some jurisdictions, robotic surgery, where the robot can be controlled by a doctor who may well be in another city, represents the plethora of possibilities that AI holds.
For many, job displacement because of AI is a fear that creates much anxiety and potential health issues. Using Edgar Schein’s definition of culture, consider this. If AI changes “the correct way to perceive, think, feel, and behave in relation to problems…the system of beliefs, values, and behavioral norms that come to be taken for granted as basic assumptions” then AI has changed the culture of an organization.
In addition, this research from McKinsey needs thinking:
“Millennials are the most active generation of AI users. Some 62 percent of 35 to 44 year old employees report high levels of expertise with AI, compared with 50 percent of 18 to 24 year old Gen Zers and 22 percent of baby boomers over 65. By tapping into that enthusiasm and expertise, leaders can help millennials play a crucial role in AI adoption.”
(By Mayer, Hannah., Yee, Lareina., Choi, Michael., Roberts, Roger. (January 28, 2025). Superagency in the Workplace: Empowering People to Unlock AI’s Full Potential (Report). Ch2.
The age of AI urgently needs two things in most organizations. Firstly, it needs leadership that influences and controls the deployment and use of AI in the organization. Secondly, it needs leadership that is capable of managing the legal, governance, financial and reputational risks that AI may well present. In Australia for example, Company Directors have participated in conferences on: the risks that AI presents, cybersecurity and data issues, Intellectual Property and Privacy questions, and from a Board perspective, Workforce Development and the impact on culture.
For some reason, AI has, in some quarters, reached a perceived state of perfection. The reality is that the information AI provides will only be as accurate as the information it can draw on. If that information is inaccurate or ambiguous, relying on it becomes problematic. In current iterations of AI, critical analysis remains a required skill and is likely to be needed for the foreseeable future. From a Workforce Development perspective, training and education of the workforce, including senior leaders, are critical. Senior leaders need to lead by example.
The danger here is that training and education programs may have a narrow focus. Whilst the here and now is important, so too is planning a workforce for the future and ensuring that staff are well equipped with the skills required, including AI skills. In his excellent book ‘The Leadership Dividend’, Tom Peters highlights the importance of good quality training and education programs, that focus on the the development of the individual and the organization.
“If you randomly stop an employee in the hall, can she or he describe in detail her or his development plan for the next twelve months? If not, why not?”
(Peters, Tom. (2018). The Excellence Dividend: Principles for Prospering in Turbulent Times from a Lifetime in Pursuit of Excellence (eBook). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Ch6. p161 of 410.
That said, each staff member almost has an obligation to themselves to source their own training and education that will develop them holistically, especially if they want an expansive career and a flourishing life. In his excellent book, ‘The Power of Employee Well-Being’, Mark C. Crowley makes the important connection between personal and professional development, well-being, and belonging, all of which are critical to individual and mission success.
“Employee well-being encompasses far more than just job satisfaction and workplace happiness. It includes a thorough consideration of an individual’s physical, emotional, and mental health, along with their work-life balance. Genuine well-being is also shaped by having a sense of purpose in one’s role, the freedom to determine when and where to work, and opportunities for ongoing personal and professional development. Essentially, De Neve determined that it really boils down to the culture of one’s organization and the impact and influence of its leaders. Do employees feel they work in an environment where they can thrive both professionally and personally? De Neve’s most unexpected and profound conclusion is that the greatest driver of employee well-being is belonging.”
(Crowley, Mark. C. (2025). The Power of Employee Well-Being (eBook). Oakland, California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Introduction. p16 of 160.
What is important to note here is that at the heart of Well-Being and Flourishing is a sense of belonging to family, social groups, and work. It should also be noted that work is one place where people find and express their dignity as human beings. Unfortunately, AI has the capacity to disrupt a person’s sense of belonging and dignity. That is problematic. AI often creates ruptures and fissures throughout an organization. This creates stress and anxiety among employees, especially those directly impacted. As an example, consider a team of software engineers who have been made redundant because the organization’s leadership decided that AI could replace them and be as effective or better than what they were doing. It might seem counterintuitive, but this is happening across the IT industry today.
“While rupture operates as an inherently negative moment – a critical cut or ‘switch-point’ (Weber 1930) that instigates a significant break with existing conditions – by the same token it can act as a positive or dynamic impulse towards escape, redirection, reconstitution, and sometimes renewal. In our conceptualization, then, ruptures are moments at which value emerges through a break with something.”
(Holbraad, Martin., Kapferer, Bruce., Sauma, Julia F. (Eds). (2019) ‘Introduction: Critical Ruptures’ in Ruptures: Anthropologies of Discontinuity in Times of Turmoil. London: UCL Press. Introduction. p1 via Open Access PDF.
In the age of AI, leadership needs to be focused, not mesmerized by AI’s wonders but focused on the organization’s future and direction and on the holistic development of everyone in the organization, from the bottom to the top. Leaders need to lead AI integration by example. The Leadership Team needs to determine why AI is being used in the organization and ensure it is fit for purpose. There should be testing and trialing as it is introduced to the organization. Where job displacement occurs, map that job position to the organization’s future needs. Once that is known, offer the affected people training to reskill. Manage the change by being conscious of how change has been accepted previously. Planned, collaborative, and paced change is most likely required. Do not attempt to do too much, too soon. As a general principle, getting the majority of staff onboard is usually required to advance any change. All of this circles back to trust and culture.
“I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game—it is the game.”
(Gerstner, Louis V, Jr.(2005). Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? Leading a Great Enterprise Through Dramatic Change. New York, NY: HarperCollins eBooks. p126.
Through all of this, the leaders need to be aware, even hypersensitive to the negative impacts that AI is having on the culture of the organization. The culture is where good-will is found and like it or not, change can drain good-will in a heart beat. Culture will be shaped and changed by AI. Culture is built and created over time and should never be taken for granted. The technology and the change needs to be humanized.
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Prof. Albus Dumbledore. (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 2002).
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