#266 AI in Leadership

In this episode, I share my key takeaways from a conference in
Armenia focused on AI in the consultancy world. What stood out the
most was the discussion on AI digital employees—AI that’s no longer
just a productivity tool like ChatGPT but is taking on actual
employee roles with access to emails, reports, and even customer
service. During the conference, I saw a live demo where an AI
receptionist handled a full conversation and booked a reservation,
which shows how far AI has already come. Beyond that, we explored
the idea of AI in leadership—how AI could eventually manage teams
or even run companies. As I pursue my PhD in leadership and
behavioral management, I’m excited to see if AI can lead a startup.
This episode is all about looking at how AI is moving beyond basic
tasks and getting ready to disrupt leadership as we know it.
Transcript: Hello, everybody, how’s it going? I just returned from
a trip to Yerevan, Armenia, and I had some really interesting
impressions from the conference I attended. The conference was
focused on AI and the consultancy world, and while I shared my
insights on AI, I was blown away by some of the other speakers and
what they had to say. The discussions weren’t just about how AI
will evolve in 20 to 30 years—that’s just speculative. What really
caught my attention were the insights on what’s happening with AI
right now, and let me tell you, it was eye-opening. Today, I want
to talk about the three levels of AI involvement in business that
were discussed at the conference, and it got me thinking about how
AI is changing leadership, especially with what I’m focusing on in
my PhD. Right now, the first level of AI involvement is pretty
common—we’re all using AI tools like ChatGPT to be more productive.
I use it myself for everything from content writing to data
analytics. AI as a tool is a huge productivity booster, and this is
where most businesses are right now. The second level is where
things get really interesting: AI as a digital employee. We’re not
talking about ChatGPT just spitting out text based on a prompt
anymore. AI is now becoming an actual employee. It has access to
email, LinkedIn, the internet, reporting systems—it’s doing real
tasks that a human would typically do. I was skeptical at first,
but then one of the speakers at the conference did a live demo
where he called a restaurant that uses an AI receptionist. The AI
picked up, handled the reservation, discussed menu options, and had
a full human-like conversation. That’s no longer theoretical—that’s
happening now. The third level that blew my mind is the potential
for AI to take on leadership roles. This is still in the future,
but we’re not far off from AI assisting with decision-making,
strategic planning, and even team management. As I explore
leadership and behavioral management in my PhD, I’m starting to
wonder if AI could fully run a startup. What if we start a new
company, let an AI handle the hiring and day-to-day operations, and
see what happens? I’m convinced it would work, and even more, I
think young professionals might prefer to be managed by AI over
humans, as AI provides transparent and unbiased management. This
isn’t a sci-fi movie plot—it’s the future of business. With AI
digital employees and potential AI leadership, companies can scale
faster than ever before. Imagine running multiple businesses with
AI CEOs working 24/7, no holidays, no breaks, just pure
productivity. This is where we’re heading, and I’m excited to dive
deeper into this through my doctoral research.