Imagine this: you walk into the office and your CEO is an AI system that scans real-time market data, sets company targets based on analytics, and adjusts strategy without needing sleep. Your CFO is an algorithm optimising budgets and predicting financial risks before humans even notice them. And HR? It’s now a digital assistant that tracks employee wellbeing through email patterns and reminds you to “take a break before burnout kicks in.” Welcome to the age of agentic AI—where software doesn’t just support your business… it might actually run it.
And this isn’t sci-fi whimsy. Giants like Deloitte and EY are already deploying AI agents to oversee tax, audits, and compliance—slicing costs and turbocharging efficiency. These systems aren’t just glorified spreadsheets—they perceive, analyse, and act. It’s the corporate equivalent of giving your printer a seat on the board.
But before we hand over the keys to the corner office, it’s worth reviewing the CV.
AI isn’t just crunching numbers anymore—it’s eyeing the corner office. But can it handle the messiness of being human?
Consider the AI-powered drive-through pilot at McDonald’s. The aim? Faster, frictionless ordering. The outcome? Customers receiving surprise bills for 260 Chicken McNuggets and bacon-topped sundaes. A gentle reminder that while AI can track trends, it may still need help deciding whether it is acting sensibly.
In another eyebrow-raising moment, an AI system flagged a sports fan’s online post about a basketball player “throwing bricks” as suspicious. The problem? It interpreted the phrase literally. In basketball, “throwing bricks” is slang for taking bad shots that often hit off the backboard or the rim, often making an embarrassing brick-like sound. There are no actual bricks involved, just wayward jumpers. The AI, unfortunately, took the metaphor at face value—an awkward case of linguistic literalism and a reminder that cultural fluency isn’t built in.
Then there was the customer service chatbot that, after one too many angry queries, started replying with language better suited to a rowdy Saturday night than a support ticket. A digital meltdown? Perhaps. Or simply a reminder that assertiveness algorithms need more than a mood setting.
These digital misadventures highlight an essential truth: AI is a tool, not a titan. While it excels at scale, it’s still baffled by sarcasm, idioms, and the glorious messiness of human interaction. Trusting it to helm your entire company? Not just yet.
But as a colleague—albeit one powered by silicon and servers—AI can be invaluable. The key is partnership: letting AI take on the grunt work, while humans focus on strategy, empathy, and that all-important talent for damage control.
