Agentic AI: Are You Ready to Meet Your New Coworker?

Agentic AI is promised to be the next evolution of tech after generative AI, and companies including OpenAI and Microsoft are committing to making it a part of their core strategy – but what does this term mean, and how can businesses responsibly leverage it for a competitive advantage?

If you’re not using AI agents yet, you may be falling behind your competition. “Many organizations are investing in AI to improve efficiency and decision-making, yet they struggle to see meaningful impact,” explains professor, researcher and author Tom Davenport in Harvard Business Review. “The problem? Their underlying business processes weren’t designed for AI. Without rethinking how work gets done, AI initiatives often fail to deliver their promised value. A new approach to process thinking can help reverse this situation.”

We can help you maximize your AI ROI. If you’re interested in learning more about responsibly utilizing these AI tools that can make decisions and act on their own without human intervention, we’ve put together a primer from the globally renowned AI experts represented by Stern Strategy Group.

Whether you’re new to the idea of AI agents or ready to get started collaborating with digital coworkers, read these articles by Stern’s roster of tech pioneers, academics and entrepreneurs to get straightforward, practical guidance on how to get ahead using AI that can think and act for itself.

Bots at Your Doorstep: Are You Cybersecure in the AI Era?

Jonathan Zittrain is a Harvard Law School professor and a pioneering student of cybersecurity who illuminates the path forward for organizations interested in getting a closer look at the quickly shifting terrain of the AI age. In his important article in The Atlantic, “We Need to Control AI Agents Now,” Zittrain explores the potentially devastating consequences of bots that can operate indefinitely without human control or input.

Robots Aren’t Magic, But They Could Give Humans Superpowers

Daniela Rus, a prominent roboticist and director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) at MIT, gives a straightforward rundown of the technology powering robots today, what advantages humans have over machines, and how robots can give us new abilities in her compelling book, “The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future With Robots.” You can read an excerpt in this recent MIT Ideas Made to Matter article – “Robots Aren’t Magic, but They Could Give Humans ‘Superpowers’”.

AI Agents, Digital Twins and Trust

Natalie Monbiot is the founder of Virtual Human Economy and a pioneer in shaping a bold new frontier where AI doesn’t replace us, it reflects us. As AI agents and digital twins become more accessible than ever, Natalie tackles an important question in her fascinating TEDx Talk – is your digital twin trustworthy?

Processes for Implementing Agentic AI

Paul Daugherty is a visionary technology leader who recently retired from his role as CEO of Accenture’s Technology Group. In his recent co-authored Harvard Business Review article, “The Secret to Successful AI-Driven Process Redesign,” he accessibly explains how powerful agentic AI tools take genAI a step further by making decisions, taking action and improving processes on their own.

Developing AI for All

World renowned responsible AI pioneer Rumman Chowdhury is a champion of the great potential of AI. But, as she explains in her eye-opening TED Talk “Your Right to Repair AI Systems,” in order to reach that potential, non-experts must also be part of the development process.

AI Trends to Follow or Ignore

Tom Davenport, an MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy fellow and a pioneering authority on AI strategies, delivers pragmatic guidance on discerning the promises of agentic AI from media-driven hype in “Five Trends in AI and Data Science for 2025,” his fascinating look ahead in the MIT Sloan Management Review.

What Will AI Agents Help Us Do?

Rana el Kaliouby, an AI trailblazer whose work on emotional, humanized AI tools is essential to organizations designing ethical business strategies, recently launched the captivating “Pioneers in AI” podcast. In a standout episode, “How Agentic AI Will Save Customer Service,” Rana is joined by Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce and co-founder of Sierra, which focuses on developing conversational AI platforms for businesses, to explore how to build AI agents that can represent a brand’s mission and voice.

How to Harness AI Agents

David De Cremer, dean of Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, founder of the Centre on AI Technology for Humankind and a global authority standing at the intersection of leadership, AI and the future of work just teamed up with Davenport on “Agentic Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing AI Agents to Reinvent Business, Work and Life.”

Redefining Human Potential in the Age of Identic AI

Joseph M. Bradley, CEO of TONOMUS, is a trailblazing thought leader who redefines what’s possible in the age of AI and digital transformation. With over 30 years of leadership experience in Silicon Valley and the Middle East, his upcoming book “You to the Power of Two” (December 2025) prepares leaders to thrive in world of personal AI agents, showing how identic AI will reshape how we work, learn and connect.

Your Personal Team of Analysts

Azeem Azhar has built a reputation as one of the tech industry’s most influential futurists who can look ahead to the important technology trends of tomorrow and advise leaders on what actions to take today. In a recent podcast appearance, he explains how AI agents that can perform complex research “is like having a team of analysts” at your fingertips. 

Let AI Agents Handle the Mundane

Peter Schwartz, Chief Futures Officer at Salesforce, is an internationally renowned futurist and business strategist who specializes in scenario planning and helping companies prepare for the future. In a sit-down with The Straits Times, he outlines how an airline’s AI-powered virtual assistant made changing a complex reservation smooth, thorough and fast.

The Collaborative Agentic Internet

Tricia Wang is a technology and AI expert who serves as a trusted advisor and consultant to global organizations seeking to unlock the full potential of data and artificial intelligence. Urging collaboration among developers and technologists, she’s working to ensure a trustworthy, interoperable future for the Agentic Internet.

The Economy of Bots

Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, is recognized around the world as perhaps the leading futurist of his generation. In a wide ranging interview on Azeem Azhar’s Exponential View podcast, he zooms in on an essential aspect of growing agentic systems – the coming “bot-to-bot economy.”

“Generative” Is So 2024, 2025 Is for the Agents

Mark Esposito, a faculty associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, teaches leaders how to identify emerging trends and build the future with foresight. Mark joined us on our Minds Worth Meeting podcast to discuss what the next step in AI looks like and why agentic AI is one of the top buzzwords of 2025.

Leveraging AI Agents to Improve Government Functions

Beth Simone Noveck is a professor of experiential AI and professor of law at Northeastern University, as well as a global authority on AI and institutions working to transform how we solve public problems with technology. In a fascinating article, Noveck details how AI agents can reshape the core functions of government.

Pioneering AI Tools for Predicting Financial Risk and Investor Behavior

Andrew W. Lo is a world-renowned economist and financial scholar whose cutting-edge research into how the world of finance can leverage artificial intelligence tools holds great promise for the future of investing. As seen in his TEDxMIT talk, his meticulous research and evidence-based frameworks provide groundbreaking insights into market behaviors, financial institution adaptability and the application of generative AI in predicting financial risk and investor behavior.

Human Connection in the Age of AI: Disruption, Dystopia, or Discovery?

Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education at the Christensen Institute, outlines why AI is on a path to disrupting human connection as we know it – and how technology, education systems, and policy will need to evolve to meet this challenge. From her engaging talks, audiences learn how disruptive innovations take root and scale, and explore how AI could be built to be more prosocial.

How Cutting-Edge Digital Tools Are Redefining Business Competition

Sinan Aral, data scientist, founding partner at Manifest Capital and director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, leads a team that’s on the cutting edge of researching the roles that emerging technologies like agentic AI can play in today’s markets. Making powerful new tools accessible for business leaders, he shows how organizations can gain a competitive edge by streamlining work and boosting productivity.

The experts represented by Stern Strategy Group can help your organization learn about, prepare for or even implement an agentic AI strategy that can take your business to the next level. Also available for one-on-one coaching or extended term advising, the authorities we work with can bring your leaders the resources they need to win in our new AI-powered world.

If you’re exploring AI tools that can make decisions and act independently, it’s important to get practical guidance on how to implement them in ways that keep humans at the center. Stern Strategy Group connects you with renowned thought leaders whose insights, strategies and management frameworks help organizations fuel growth and disruptive innovation to better compete in a constantly changing world. Let us arrange for these esteemed experts to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting sessions, workshops and keynotes.