In this Partnering Leadership conversation, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Professor Ajay Agrawal, the Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. Ajay Agrawal is also the founder of the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), a not-for-profit program for early-stage, science-based companies, and coauthor of two outstanding books on Artificial Intelligence: Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence. In the conversation, Professor Agrawal shared the origin of his passion for studying the intersection of technology and economics and the increasing importance of artificial intelligence for organizations as a decision-making tool that brings down the cost of prediction. Ajay Agrawal then explained why this shift would significantly impact individuals, organizations, and industries as machines enable better predictions while humans focus on the judgment required for decision-making. Finally, Ajay Agrawal shared examples of the transformative impact of the reduction in the cost of prediction and how leaders can help guide their organizations through the significant changes ahead.

Some highlights:

- Three people that helped shape Ajay Agrawal's career path

- Why looking at AI from an economic perspective clarifies its potential to transform organizations and industries

- Ajay Agrawal on the role of predictions in artificial intelligence 

- The importance of human judgment in decision making

- How AI decision-making will redefine roles in the workplace

- The disruptive economics of artificial intelligence 

- How generative AI such as ChatGPT works and what causes mistakes and misstatements

- Ajay Agrawal on the importance of upskilling professionals 

- How organizations can redesign their structures and processes to take into account the new predictive world

- The impact of AI on systems-level change

- How organizations can leverage AI for business success

- Why we're on the brink of a set of transformations that none of us have seen in our lifetimes

- How AI can help create a better future

Connect with Professor Ajay Agrawal:

Ajay Agrawal website 

Ajay Agrawal at Rotman School of Management 

Ajay Agrawal on LinkedIn 

Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence on Amazon 

Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence on Amazon 

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn

Partnering Leadership Website