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 about 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.