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AI: Talent's Rocket Fuel with Mike Bechtel
Artificial intelligence is touching elements of our lives that most people couldn’t have predicted even five years ago. No aspect is being disrupted more than our work and our jobs. As Michael Kanaan said on 12 Geniuses back in 2021 in The Future of Artificial Intelligence, “there is no job on the planet that AI doesn't have its rightful place to do the job better.” Exactly how jobs will be redefined is largely dependent on the mindset companies have toward their talent and these new tools that are able to do magical things.
In this interview, Deloitte Consulting’s chief futurist Mike Bechtel discusses the two common ways in which companies are approaching the artificial intelligence revolution. Mike says that some companies are using AI to cut costs and replace people with technology. Other companies see AI as “rocket fuel” for their talent. While the “short-termists” that are using AI to minimize expenses might please shareholders for a brief period of time, Mike says the companies that have a longer-term view on the combination of their people and these powerful tools will ultimately be winners in this unique period in business. Mike goes on to talk the differentiating traits that leaders should be seeking as they hire new people in an AI workplace and Mike shares his advice for how individuals and leaders should think about career development into the future.
Mike Bechtel is a managing director and the chief futurist with Deloitte Consulting LLP. Mike helps clients develop strategies to thrive in the face of discontinuity and disruption. His team researches the novel and exponential technologies most likely to impact the future of business, and builds relationships with the startups, incumbents, and academic institutions creating them.
Prior to joining Deloitte, Mike led Ringleader Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm he co-founded in 2013. Before Ringleader, he served as CTO of Start Early, a national not-for-profit focused on early childhood education for at-risk youth. Mike began his career in technology R&D at a global professional services firm where his dozen US patents helped result in him being named that firm’s global innovation director. He currently serves as professor of corporate innovation at the University of Notre Dame.
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Meet Your Host, Don MacPherson
Don MacPherson is the founder, CEO, and Host of 12 Geniuses
Don MacPherson is host of 12 Geniuses - a podcast for curious and voracious learners. A five-time entrepreneur, Don spent 25 years researching the employee and customer experiences, the attributes of great leadership, and how healthy organizational cultures are created and sustained. Now, Don interviews geniuses from around the world about the trends shaping the way we live and work. From AI to biotechnology, aging to addiction, cybersecurity to privacy, and climate change to trust, Don uses these insights to help business leaders better understand what these trends are, how they are positioned to disrupt companies and industries, and how new value can be created for those willing to make the necessary changes.
An avid traveler and volunteer, Don has visited every corner of the world and been a Big Brother mentor for more than 20 years. He is the former executive director and current board member of think2perform Research Institute where he helped to create the organization’s Future Leaders Academy. Don is a board member of Leadership Garden, an organization that helps young people develop the life skills needed to make a positive difference in their community. He is also a board member for Harmony Foundation, a drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility in Estes Park, Colorado.