"Humans were smart enough to invent AI, dumb enough to need it, and so stupid we're not sure we've done the right thing," quipped Jerry Seinfeld. It's a comment that sums up the current mood around artificial intelligence: awe, confusion, and a fair amount of anxiety.
In the thick of this transformation is Dr Mark Bloomfield, a Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School, where he teaches senior executives how to understand and apply AI to drive innovation and navigate disruption. In this session, Dr Bloomfield lays out a no-nonsense framework for understanding AI’s present capabilities, key trends, and practical actions for business leaders.
Understanding the Landscape: The Three Types of AI
AI is not a monolith. It’s a broad and evolving field that’s been around for nearly 70 years. Dr Bloomfield distils it into three distinct categories that leaders should understand:
- Predictive AI
Think TikTok or Netflix. These systems recommend content and guide decisions by analysing past behaviour. They’re designed to predict what you’ll want next. - Generative AI
Tools like ChatGPT and DALL·E fall into this category. They don’t just recommend—they create, drawing on huge datasets to generate text, images, and more from scratch. - Physical AI
This is where AI meets the real world—through robotics and sensors. These systems physically interact with their environment and represent the most tangible form of AI in action.
Key Point: AI ≠ just GenAI. To lead effectively, you need to understand all three.
Three Trends Leaders Must Know
Dr Bloomfield identifies three emerging AI trends that are reshaping how we work and lead.
1. Agentic AI (AI Agents)
AI agents are autonomous systems that help automate decision-making and workflows, from processing documents to generating social media content. The smart leader’s role? Act like a conductor. You orchestrate how these agents work together to improve business performance.
2. Explainable AI (xAI)
Trust is essential. Explainable AI ensures that decisions made by AI can be traced and understood, like a student showing their work in a maths test. This is crucial to avoid risks like hallucinations in generative models and to maintain confidence across your organisation.
3. AI as a Stakeholder
Whether or not you’re using AI, your customers or suppliers probably are. Dr Bloomfield urges leaders to treat AI as a thought partner,something you interact with, learn from, and use for inspiration and challenge, just like a senior advisor.
Four Practical Actions to Stay Ahead
To cut through the hype and start delivering results, Dr Bloomfield shares four actionable steps.
1. Build an AI Voice Agent with Eleven Labs
Use tools like Eleven Labs to create AI agents that can simulate key conversations—pitching to a CEO, negotiating a raise, or handling a customer query. Dr Bloomfield has even created AI non-exec directors to challenge and advise his own business. The process itself is enlightening and forces you to think strategically about how AI fits into your organisation.
2. Subscribe to Curated Newsletters
Stay on the cutting edge without getting overwhelmed. Dr Bloomfield recommends three AI newsletters:
- The Rundown – Broad insights for general business readers
- Superhuman – Industry-specific examples of how AI is being applied
- Alpha Signal – A deeper, more technical dive for those ready to go further
These act as your personal radar, helping you distinguish between fad and future.
3. Invest in AI Literacy
Create a common language around AI in your team. This includes understanding the terminology, knowing what’s possible (and what’s not), and removing the fear factor. A shared baseline enables faster innovation and better decision-making.
4. Run a Friction Audit
Look across your organisation for bottlenecks, manual tasks, or repetitive workflows. Then ask: could predictive, generative, or physical AI solve this? Start small and scale with confidence.
Final Thought: Focus on the Problem, Not the Tool
The pace of change is dizzying. But Dr Bloomfield offers a grounding principle: don’t chase the tech. Stay focused on the problem you’re trying to solve. With an innovation mindset and a clear understanding of AI’s capabilities, you can move confidently from hype to opportunity.
"To ensure success with AI," Dr Bloomfield concludes, "you need to be focused not just on the latest shiny technology, but on the business problems that matter."
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