AI Automates Tasks, But Leaders Must Retain Critical Thinking

Organizations are moving beyond using artificial intelligence (AI) as a mere tool to assist individuals in their tasks. AI is now being deployed as an actor that initiates, executes, and reports on decision-making loops previously owned by human leaders. While this automation can expedite and enhance outcomes, it risks undermining the human role in judgment and potentially eroding critical assessment capabilities.

A chief revenue officer at a midmarket B2B software company implemented an agentic AI system to manage pipeline forecasting and deal prioritization. The system generated weekly action recommendations for regional VPs, improving forecast accuracy. Despite the deployment being hailed as a success, six months later, the company lost three enterprise deals that the AI had ranked as low-priority. These deals would likely have been pursued through traditional, human-led judgment, based on intuition and relationship signals that data cannot capture.

Upon investigation, no one could fully explain the AI's scoring logic. Leaders had approved recommendations without adequate deep examination. The loss was not in effort, but in the leaders' intentionality and forethought, which are crucial for effectiveness. Experts Carly and Jenny highlight psychologist Albert Bandura's theories on human agency, comprising intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness, and self-reflectiveness. Unchecked agentic AI can erode these qualities.

The solution lies in restoring the human role as the "author" rather than merely an "approver." Leaders should mandate that before AI is used for significant tasks, employees clearly define their objectives, their initial viewpoint, and how AI will support their thinking, not dictate it. Prior to reviewing AI outputs, articulating one's own expectations and hypotheses is crucial for critically evaluating the AI's results.

Furthermore, organizations must introduce "healthy friction" into processes, such as structured review checkpoints or requirements to justify key assumptions. This ensures that human judgment is preserved and developed, even within automated workflows. Consequently, AI remains a tool that supports human thought, rather than replacing it.