MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Online Series

Episode 16 of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Online Series: When AI Becomes Common, Organizational Capability Becomes the Advantage
Hosted by Allan Tate and Irving Wladawsky-Berger.
As artificial intelligence becomes widely available across the enterprise, access to AI is no longer the differentiator. The organizations that gain a lasting advantage will be those that can effectively integrate AI into their people, processes, and decision-making.
In this episode, Allan and Irving explore why organizational capability is emerging as the next competitive advantage. Drawing on insights from the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium Collective Sensemaking Process, the conversation examines the growing importance of governance, workforce development, operational readiness, and continuous learning. They also discuss why AI is best viewed as a tool that augments human judgment rather than replaces it.
As AI becomes commonplace, success will depend less on the technology itself and more on an organization's ability to learn, adapt, and evolve.
Continue the conversation in the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium online community, where technology executives come together to exchange ideas, share perspectives, and explore the future of leadership in the age of AI.
Save the date for the 2027 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium → May 19, 2027. 
 

From Information to Sensemaking: Why Leadership Communities Matter More in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming how leaders access information. Research can be summarized instantly, market analyses generated on demand, and strategic alternatives explored with AI. But as information becomes more abundant, one question becomes increasingly important: What becomes more valuable?
In this episode, we explore why leadership communities may become even more essential in the age of AI. Drawing on insights from the 2026 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, the conversation examines how trust, dialogue, and shared inquiry help executives move beyond information to develop sound judgment. We also discuss how conferences and professional communities are evolving from places to acquire knowledge into environments where leaders collectively make sense of emerging technologies and their implications for business.
As AI continues to reshape leadership, the challenge is no longer finding information—it's making sense of it.

As AI agents begin to search, negotiate, and transact on behalf of users, commerce is shifting from human-initiated clicks to machine-mediated coordination. In this episode, Allan Tate and Irving Wladawsky-Berger speak with Barnard Crespi about the emerging architecture of agentic commerce and what it means for enterprise leaders.The conversation explores how AI agents alter traditional assumptions about identity, delegated authority, liability, and trust. Rather than focusing narrowly on technical standards, the discussion examines deeper structural questions: Who controls discovery when agents mediate transactions? How should enterprises think about “Know Your Agent” alongside Know Your Customer? And what new risks emerge when optimization systems begin negotiating with other optimization systems?
 
For CIOs, the implications extend beyond payments and procurement. Agentic commerce challenges existing governance frameworks, incentive structures, and security models, and may reshape where power and revenue concentrate in digital ecosystems. Watch this session to understand the strategic, architectural, and governance questions enterprises must address before machine-to-machine commerce becomes operational reality.
 
Save the Date:The next MIT Sloan CIO Symposium will take place on May 19, 2026, with a special VIP pre-event on May 18, 2026. Reserve your spot now by visiting our registration page and secure your access to this premier event focused on 
 
Join Our Online Community:Dive deeper into these topics by joining the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium online community. Access exclusive content, live events, and discussions with IT practitioners and innovators shaping the future of technology. 
 

How will future historians understand AI’s place in our time? In this episode, Allan Tate and Irving Wladawsky-Berger step back from hype and predictions to explore how major technological eras are recognized only in hindsight. Through historical analogies, the idea of a “rational bubble,” and a provocative discussion of AI as a possible cognitive technology, they examine three competing narratives, as well as implications for CIOs: AI as a new technological revolution akin to electricity, an evolution of the ICT era, or the first cognitive technology reshaping human intelligence. The conversation models disciplined inquiry, helping leaders think more clearly about AI, uncertainty, and the choices that must be made now.
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Registration is open for the 2026 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. Learn more here: https://mitcio.info/register
 

MIT Sloan CIO Symposium – Online SeriesEpisode #12Recording Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
🎙️ Title: Agentic AI: Revolutionizing Work or a Path to Dystopia?
In this episode, hosts Allan Tate and Irving Wladawsky-Berger sit down with Tom Davenport, President’s Distinguished Professor at Babson College and co-author of Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work and Life. Together, they explore the rise of agentic AI—autonomous systems designed to perform digital tasks—and their potential to reshape the workplace.
Davenport shares insights from real-world deployments, such as AI-driven compliance in banking and automated warranty claims in automotive, while weighing the promises and perils of AI-human collaboration. The discussion ranges from productivity gains and job augmentation to the risks of over-reliance on flawed AI models, hallucinations in critical fields like medicine, and even the societal implications of AI companionship.
The conversation challenges CIOs and executives to move beyond fear and hype—focusing instead on augmentation, re-engineering, and human-centric design to ensure that AI agents become trusted partners rather than dystopian replacements.
🔗 References & Further Reading:
The Potential of AI Agents: Three Stories Drawn from Real-World Experiences
The Long Term Evolution of Agentic AI
The Roles of Humans in an Agent-Driven World (Tom Davenport)
We’re Screwed If We Don’t Stay in the Agentic AI Loop (Tom Davenport)
Agentic Artificial Intelligence (Book)
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Save the Date: May 19, 2026 for the 23nd Annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium 

Episode 11: Beyond Automation: Human Strengths in the Age of AI
In this episode, Allan Tate and Irving Wladawsky-Berger are joined by Isabella Loaiza, postdoctoral associate at MIT Sloan, to discuss her EPOCH framework and the enduring human capabilities that remain vital in an AI-powered world. Isabella unpacks the roles of empathy, presence, originality, creativity, and hope in the evolving workplace and challenges the idea of AI as a mere cost-cutting tool. Instead, she offers a vision where technology amplifies human potential. This conversation is packed with insights for technology leaders seeking to redesign work and leadership strategies that prioritize and preserve what makes us uniquely human.
 
Join Us in the Online Community: https://mitcio.info/welcome
 
📄 Related reading:
The EPOCH of AI: Human-Machine Complementarities at Workhttps://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5028371
How Humans and AI Can Complement Each Other in the Workplacehttps://mitcio.com/posts/79784742
The Impact of AI on Jobs and Skillshttps://mitcio.com/posts/86701768

In Episode 10 of the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium’s Online Series, hosts Allan Tate and Irving Wladawsky-Berger talk with Michael Schrage, Fellow at MIT Sloan School’s Initiative on the Digital Economy.
 
The conversation explores the critical role of philosophy in shaping AI adoption, challenging the overemphasis on ethical and responsible AI by examining teleological, ontological, and epistemological dimensions.
 
Schrage argues that AI built on large language models (LLMs) is not just a statistical tool but a medium shaped by philosophical principles. The discussion also tackles whether AI is a "normal" technology, comparing its cognitive augmentation to historical tools like telescopes and calculators, and debates its potential to redefine human intelligence and critical thinking.
 
We invite you to join in on the conversation in our online community. Visit here: https://mitcio.info/welcome
 
Save the Date: 2026 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, May 19th
 
MIT Sloan CIO Symposium – Online Series, Episode 10
Philosophy Eats AI: Exploring the Role of Critical Thinking in AI Adoption
 

In this engaging episode, Allan Tate moderates a lively discussion with Irving Wladawsky-Berger and Michael Grandinetti, exploring the transformative potential of Agentic AI. Michael Grandinetti, fresh from both MIT’s NANDA (Network of Agents and Decentralized AI Conference and the Imaginaton in Action AI Conference , distinguishes Agentic AI from generative AI, highlighting its autonomy, persistent memory, and ability to execute complex workflows with minimal human input. He shares real-world examples, such as Klarna’s customer support automation and John Hancock’s 40 production use cases, illustrating Agentic AI’s early enterprise impact. Irving Wladawsky-Berger frames Agentic AI as the “action phase” of AI, emphasizing its role in building sophisticated applications through human-agent collaboration, likening it to assembling teams of specialized “servlets” for tasks like travel planning. The trio debates the technology’s maturity, with Irving advocating for cautious, incremental adoption in low-stakes workflows, while Michael predicts rapid scaling, citing AI native startups in the Link Ventures venture studio generating millions of code lines dailymand a “livig lab:” where an ever increasing number of startups are reaching $100M in ARR (annual recurring)  at unprecedented speed with hyper-lean teams. They address challenges like testing, transparency, and cultural change management, underscoring the need for human oversight and robust engineering. The conversation also touches on preparing future leaders for an AI-driven world, with Michael noting curriculum shifts at Harvard and Wharton. This episode offers a balanced, insightful look at Agentic AI’s promise and pitfalls for CIOs and enterprises.
 
Save the Date:The next MIT Sloan CIO Symposium will take place on May 20, 2025, with a special VIP pre-event on May 19, 2025. Reserve your spot now by visiting our registration page and secure your access to this premier event focused on CIO Leadership in an AI-Driven World.
 
Join Our Online Community:Dive deeper into these topics by joining the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium online community. Access exclusive content, live events, and discussions with IT practitioners and innovators shaping the future of technology.