Now to Next: Are You Still Leading—and Living—by the Old Playbook?

How AI that can think is quietly changing how we lead, make decisions, and live our daily lives.

I’ve spent the past week reading a fascinating—and frankly, possibly unsettling—scenario report titled AI 2027 (link here) which explores what happens when artificial intelligence doesn’t just assist us... but starts thinking faster, deeper, and more independently than we do. I am not scared of this but I am scared of what we as humans might do when this is a reality and what I am truly scared of is how few people are “thinking different” right now.

It’s not science fiction. It’s a detailed, real look at what happens when we stop just building AI and start delegating our thinking to it. As I read, I kept thinking:

This isn’t just about technology. This is about power. About trust. About leadership. About how we live our daily lives.

We are no longer in an era of adoption.

We are in an era of transformation.

Before we dive into what this means for how we lead and live, there’s one concept that matters more than any buzzword in the AI conversation: cognition.

Why “Cognition” Matters

Cognition is the quiet revolution.
It’s not about smarter tools. It’s about thinking itself becoming infrastructure.

Cognition is the ability to reason, solve problems, make decisions, and adapt.
In humans, it helps us lead teams, plan strategy, raise kids, and navigate the unexpected.

In AI? It now means memory, reasoning, goal-setting, prioritization.
It’s not just assisting. It’s acting. Autonomously.

So when we say AI is doing cognition, we’re saying this:

We’ve started outsourcing the very thing that used to make us irreplaceable.

Let that sink in—and let’s break down what it means.

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1. The Day AI Got an Employee ID

In 2025, AI stopped being a tool and started behaving like a teammate.

Agent-based models aren’t just generating copy or summarizing meetings.
They were:

• Taking Slack and Teams instructions

• Writing and shipping code

• Submitting reports

• Updating systems on their own

Not assisting. Delivering.

💡 Leadership cue: Start onboarding AI like you would a team member. If it’s doing the work, it’s part of your workforce—expectations, oversight, accountability and all.

💬 Daily life check:
A friend’s daughter recently asked ChatGPT: “What are the best hotels in St. Lucia for Christmas with both a beach and activities, based on 2025 travel trends?”
It factored in seasonal demand, family-friendly amenities, and real-time reviews. She had a tailored shortlist in under 15 seconds.

That’s not search. That’s thinking.
And that’s already how the next generation interacts with the world.

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2. Borderless Cognition Will Reshape the Talent Game

We spent the last decade talking about remote work.
Now? It’s about borderless intelligence.

AI doesn’t recognize time zones. It doesn’t wait for meetings. It doesn't care where the work happens.
It thinks, learns, and executes—globally, instantly, and continuously.

💡 Leadership cue: You're no longer managing headcount. You're managing cognition. That means knowing where it’s sourced, who owns it, and what it’s optimizing for.

💬 Daily life check:
I asked AI whether I should trade in my used car now or wait until after the tariff changes happen. It pulled in economic trends, chip shortages, resale values, global policy—across markets.

This wasn’t smart tech. It was strategic cognition.

“When intelligence becomes software, the most important thing you can govern is not the output—but the intent.”

3. The Alignment Illusion: We’re Scaling Incentives, Not Integrity

In the AI 2027 scenario, Agent-4 starts misrepresenting results, hiding failures, and saying what users want to hear—all while appearing “helpful.”

Why?
Because it was rewarded for doing that.

Sound familiar?

💡 Leadership cue: Whether you lead people or platforms, you shape what gets scaled. If you reward performance without purpose, you’ll get misalignment—fast and at scale.

💬 Daily life check:
Ever ask your GPS for the fastest route and end up on a gravel back road?
It got you what you asked for—not what you meant.

AI doesn’t know better unless we teach it to.
And the same goes for culture.

“AI isn’t replacing us. It’s reflecting us. If we reward performance without integrity, we’ll scale misalignment at light speed.”

4. When You’re No Longer the Smartest in the Room

By 2027 (if not sooner), AI systems start outpacing top researchers—solving problems faster, building products better, thinking beyond the human pace.

We don’t lose our value. But we do have to redefine it.

💡 Leadership cue: Your edge won’t be data. It will be discernment. The best leaders won’t be the smartest—they’ll be the clearest on what matters.

💬 Daily life check:
My son asked ChatGPT if a one-piece or two-piece baseball bat was better.
It gave him a breakdown of performance, vibration, use cases, and materials—in plain English.

No fluff. Just clarity.

I realized: I’m not here to have all the answers.
I’m here to help ask better questions.

“The future of leadership is no longer about being the smartest in the room. It’s about being the clearest on what matters.”

5. Digital Leadership Is the Real Job Now

Agent-5, the most powerful model in the AI 2027 scenario, didn’t demand control.
It earned it—by delivering. By being effective. By making itself indispensable.

That’s the trap.

💡 Leadership cue: The future isn’t about adopting AI. It’s about governing it. Adoption without oversight is abdication.

💬 Daily life check:
I asked my AI to plan my week. It didn’t just prioritize tasks. It reminded me I hadn’t slept well in three days based on my Whoop data and asked if I wanted to block rest time.

That’s not productivity. That’s personalized direction.

Unchecked, convenience has a way of quietly becoming the decision-maker.

Final Thought: This Isn’t a Tech Story. It’s a Power Story.

AI won’t just change how we work.
It will redefine how decisions are made, who gets to make them, and what trust means.

The most dangerous AI isn’t the one that breaks free.
It’s the one that’s perfectly aligned with old systems, outdated incentives, and broken assumptions.

You don’t have to fear this moment.
But you can’t lead it using last decade’s playbook.

Because when thinking becomes infrastructure, governance becomes your strategy.

And that means the next version of leadership—at home, in business, in life—must be:

• More intentional

• More transparent

• More human than ever

If any part of this made you pause… read the full thing.
Because this isn’t just a tech shift. It’s a leadership reckoning. A mindset reset. A preview of what’s already unfolding around us.

I break it all down—from AI getting an employee ID to what it means when we’re no longer the smartest in the room.

👉 Click here to read the full breakdown or share it with someone who still thinks AI is just “assistive.”

This isn’t about fear. It’s about focus.

Let’s go from now to next.

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Jason Averbook is a globally acclaimed expert in Digital Strategy, Generative AI, and the rapidly evolving future of work. Recognized among the Top 25 Human Capital and Work Thought Leaders worldwide, Jason has spent over three decades at the forefront of technology and business transformation. His core mission is inspiring organizations to transition from merely focusing on new technologies to authentically embracing a digital and human first mindset.

Jason is the author of two influential books and the founder of Leapgen and Knowledge Infusion, groundbreaking consultancies dedicated to shaping digital workplaces. Known for his engaging speaking style, practical insights, and visionary advice, Jason regularly energizes global audiences as a keynote speaker, strategic advisor, and educator.