Influential Visions

By Nat Schooler - Business FuturistBusiness Technology Management

Influential Visions episodes

May 30 S14 Ep6: Chatbots Are Killing People and Nobody's Stopping Them
AI job losses in 2026 have passed 142,000 in tech alone. Chatbots have been directly linked to multiple deaths. The FDA has issued its first ever warning letter citing AI misuse. The data is in — and it is worse than you think.
Re-released due to the audio not meeting our standards.
Nat Schooler breaks down the verified facts on what AI is actually doing to people and to the workforce right now. No hype, no speculation. Real cases, real data, real accountability gaps.
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12 min
May 28 S14 Ep5: Why India Is Winning The AI Race Nobody Is Watching | Tushar Kansal
The world's biggest AI conversation is happening without India in the room. That is a mistake.
One in eight of ChatGPT's weekly users sits in India. Eighty per cent of Indian professionals use AI at work — against fifty per cent in the US. And the country is quietly building its own sovereign language models, frugal AI tools, and healthcare diagnostics at a scale the West has not begun to absorb.
Tushar Kansal — founder of Kansaltancy Ventures, VC strategist to 1,700-plus international investors — joins Nat Schooler to cover what India is actually building, what happened at the Delhi AI Summit that nobody is talking about, and why ancient Indian philosophy understands something about intelligent machines that Silicon Valley has missed completely.
"AI can give you the right answer. But it cannot give you the right intention."
Read the full piece: https://www.natschooler.com/why-india-is-winning-the-ai-race-nobody-is-watching/

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30 min
May 26S14 Ep4: Sovereign AI: The US vs China Money War (And Why Spending More Is Not Winning)
Sovereign AI is the race for every nation to control its own artificial intelligence — and the US versus China money war just exposed why spending more is not winning.
Fresh data from the 2026 Stanford AI Index reveals a staggering reality: the United States poured $285.9 billion of private AI money into the race in 2025, compared to China’s $12.4 billion. That is a massive 23-to-1 spending gap.
Yet, despite the US being the biggest spender in history, the performance gap between the top American and Chinese models has collapsed to a mere 2.7%.
In this teaser episode, we break down why money isn't buying absolute safety or control, how the illusion of "borrowed control" creates real-world human risks, and why this completely reframes the global tech race. If the world's biggest budget can barely maintain a lead, what does it mean for nations competing on a fraction of the cost?
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Read the full deep-dive article: The Sovereign AI Paradox: Why No Nation Builds Its Future Alone

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What You’ll Learn In This Teaser:
The 23-to-1 Paradox: Why Washington's multi-billion-dollar spending advantage isn't yielding a dominant lead.
The Performance Collapse: How a 2.7% performance gap changes the geopolitical playing field overnight.
Human-Centric Dangers: A look at the three very real, non-technical risks of relying on foreign technology: price volatility, signal manipulation, and infrastructure vulnerabilities.
The Road to Thursday: How this sets the stage for our upcoming, exclusive conversation with Indian venture capitalist Tushar Kansal, exploring how India is competing on a fraction of the budget.
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9 min
May 23 S14 Ep3: Who Really Controls Your AI? The Sovereign AI Race Nobody Noticed
Who Really Controls Your AI?

Two of the biggest moments in AI this year happened in the same fortnight and almost nobody noticed. Five companies quietly agreed to let the US government look at their newest models before anyone else. Days later, the President walked away from the order that would have made it mandatory.
So we are left with a halfway house. Government has a foot in the door. The door has not been locked open.
In this episode I break down what actually happened, why nations are now racing to build sovereign AI, and the three reasons the world still reaches for American models despite the growing distrust. I also share what I learned watching this exact pattern play out from the inside during my time as a Futurist at IBM.
The full blog with all sources and FAQs is on my website: https://natschooler.com
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7 min
May 21S14 Ep2: Governments Are Running on AI at Scale—What That Actually Means
"Governments Are Running on AI at Scale" Guest: Nicolas Babin, EU Deputy Mayor & Digital Ambassador

What if I told you that your government is running on AI systems that operate at speeds humans cannot match? Not chatbots. Not theoretical. Real systems detecting fraud across millions of accounts, predicting security threats before they happen, accelerating healthcare innovation, and shaping policy before votes occur.
In this episode, I sit down with Nicolas Babin—someone inside the European digital infrastructure who has spent a decade watching this transformation unfold—to talk about:
Why the Latvia SIM card fraud (200M+ fake accounts) changed how governments think about detection
How vision AI and drones are catching undeclared assets for tax compliance
The speed-versus-problem gap in cybersecurity (and why humans cannot close it alone)
AI's actual role in healthcare innovation (vaccine acceleration, tumour detection, personalized medicine)
What happens when governments move faster than citizens can follow
This is not a fearmongering episode. It is a clarity episode. If your organization works with government, depends on government systems, or is trying to understand where the world is actually heading, this conversation is for you.
The core question we don't ask enough: When governments use AI to detect, predict, and enforce at machine speed, how do we ensure the system is fast and fair?
14 min
May 19 S14 Ep1: AI in Government — Five Facts That Change the Map
Every country is running a different AI experiment on itself right now. Most people only see one of them.
For five years, the AI story had four postcodes — San Francisco, Brussels, Beijing, and maybe London on a slow news day. That era just ended.
In this opening episode of Series 14, Nat Schooler — ex-IBM futurist and host of Influential Visions — maps the new global AI landscape through three lenses: power, people, and place. Five facts. One framework. And one thesis he will defend across every episode: AI scales volume, but human networks scale judgement.
Shownotes here.
The countries winning with AI are not the ones with the biggest models. They are the ones with the strongest trust built underneath.
For leaders, executives, and anyone trying to navigate a world where the rules are being rewritten faster than you can read them.
Subscribe. Share with one leader asking the wrong questions. And tell Nat which country you want covered next.
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9 min
February 27S13 Ep12: The New Executive Presence [How Leaders Build Real Influence]
In this episode, I sit down with Shayna Davis, founder of the Executive Signals Group, to break down why executive presence needs a complete reframe — and what to build instead: external influence.
Most leaders are told they need "executive presence" — but nobody can define what that actually means.
In this episode, host Nat Schooler sits down with Shayna Davis, founder of the Executive Signals Group and former White House communications advisor, to reframe the conversation entirely.
Shayna argues that what leaders really need isn't presence — it's external influence. And she breaks down exactly how to build it using her 3-pillar framework:
🎯 Leadership Identity — Who are you beyond your title? 🎯 Leadership Branding — How does the world perceive you? 🎯 Leadership Messaging — What's your unique point of view?
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why "executive presence" is an outdated and vague concept
The difference between internal and external influence
How leaders can build a personal brand without undermining their company
Why AI is making human influence MORE valuable, not less
The 3 things every leader needs to stand out in a trust-depleted world
About Shayna Davis: Shayna is a leadership branding strategist who has advised White House officials, Fortune 500 executives, and global leaders. She founded the Executive Signals Group to help senior leaders build the external influence that drives business results.
🔗 Nat Schooler: https://natschooler.com Executive Asset Workshop 🔗
Get Shayna Davis: ShaynaDavis.com and on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaynarattler/
25 min
February 20 S13 Ep11: High-Humanity Advantage: Unlock AI Career Success Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Stop signing your own resignation letter by staying comfortable.. In the Great Detachment of 2026, the only "job for life" is the one you architect yourself. We aren't just surviving the AI Revolution; we are leading the Creative Revolution by leveraging the one thing AI cannot replicate: Your unique humanity.

Guest Bio: Nicolas Babin is an AI expert, EU Digital Ambassador, and former Head of Sony Europe Robotics. He advises global organizations on navigating the technological revolution with a human-first approach.
The Golden Ticket: Stop letting your future be something you blindly inherit. Join the Monday Influencer Community for elite strategic coaching and the "Indispensable Weekly Guide."
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Shownotes can be found here: https://www.natschooler.com/is-your-comfort-zone-an-ai-risk-how-to-future-proof-your-career-today/
25 min
February 13 S13 Ep10: AI is Hollowing Out Middle Management. Is Your Role Next?
AI is coming for the middle managers—here’s why that might actually be a good thing if you’re human.

In this briefing, Francisco Marin (CEO of Cognitive Talent Solutions) reveals how Fortune 500 giants are using Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) to find the "invisible" influencers who actually run their companies.
We dive into why a 500-person AI experiment failed, how to slash onboarding time by 40%, and the "Trojan Horse" strategy for bringing collaborative freedom into rigid corporate structures. If you’re worried about AI displacement or struggling with team engagement, this episode is your blueprint for the new era of work.
Get the shownotes here: https://www.natschooler.com/ai-career-success-the-network-first-manifesto-and-the-new-architecture-of-human-connection/
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25 min
February 06S13 Ep9: AI Will Replace Weak Managers: Why Culture is Your Only Competitive Advantage
While most people fear that AI is coming for their jobs, the real disruption isn't the technology—it’s the culture behind it. In this episode, Nathaniel Schooler sits down with leadership expert Tom Schin to discuss why AI won’t necessarily replace workers, but it will definitely replace "weak managers" who refuse to adapt.
They dive deep into why 85% of AI projects fail due to poisonous cultures and how a "lifelong learner" mindset is the only way to stay relevant in an increasingly automated world.
Inside This Episode
The Management Risk Factor: Why resistance to change makes you a liability to your organization and how to move from a "one-tool" to a "multi-tool" professional.
Culture Over Code: Why technology is just a tool, and how building a culture of curiosity and adaptability is the first step to a successful AI strategy.
The "Emeritus" Mentoring Model: Lessons from Japan on how to bridge the gap between tech-savvy youth and experienced veterans through institutional knowledge sharing.
Up-skilling in HR and Beyond: How AI frees up time for the "human elements" of leadership, from high-level problem solving to complex team dynamics.
The Productivity Trap: A candid look at the distractions of social media and how to retrain your brain for focus and neuroplasticity.
Personal Accountability: Why "the teacher shows up when the student is ready" and the importance of having a mentor—and being one.
Notable Quotes:
"If your company gets this [culture] wrong, you'll lose your best people. If you get it right, AI will make your team unstoppable." — Tom Schin
"AI is not going to solve the world for you... it is upon the managers to motivate and drive that innovation through their people."
Connect with Tom Schin:

Tom helps businesses solve leadership challenges through group programming and one-on-one coaching.
Podcast: Meeting Should Have Been a Podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schinnn/
24 min