The future of AI is about autonomous agents taking charge. In this episode of the AI First Podcast, Box Chief Customer Officer Jon Herstein sits down with Beena Ammanath, Executive Director at the Deloitte AI Institute, to explore the shift from AI systems that assist us to AI agents that act on our behalf. They discuss how AI agents are reshaping industries, the vital role of governance in ensuring trust and transparency, and why it’s essential for leaders to prepare for the coming wave of AI-driven autonomy. Deloitte’s Deloitte's 2026 AI report tracking adoption and impact https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/what-we-do/capabilities/applied-artificial-intelligence/content/state-of-ai-in-the-enterprise.html Key moments: (00:00) Introduction to AI Reliability (02:12) Beena’s career background and experience in AI (03:37) Challenges of applying AI in different industries (04:55) Beena discusses her books and their focus on AI (05:43) Trustworthy AI: Emphasis on reliability and transparency (07:17) Zero Latency Leadership and its relevance (07:49) Deloitte's AI institute and annual AI reports (08:52) The slow pace of applied AI adoption vs. technology development (10:03) Failed AI projects and the importance of user adoption (11:11) Importance of proactive planning for AI adoption (11:47) Human-led AI: The need for human involvement in AI decision-making (12:45) AI in healthcare and the importance of trust (14:16) Building AI that operates beyond human reliability (15:45) AI’s mistakes and the potential scale of errors (16:05) The rise of physical AI and humanoid robots (19:04) Day one approach: Rethinking business processes from scratch (22:14) Driving AI fluency and literacy within organizations (25:41) Incentivizing AI adoption among employees (27:03) Real-world example of AI tool adoption failure and solution (29:51) Comfort with AI and its non-replacement of jobs (30:30) AI enabling tasks previously too cost-prohibitive (31:43) The importance of both top-down and bottom-up AI efforts (33:06) Internal hackathons and AI engagement at Deloitte (35:44) AI governance: How to handle model changes and accountability (37:10) Importance of company-wide governance for AI (47:04) Setting a north star for AI value metrics (50:45) Prediction on AI being seamless without explicit labeling (51:02) Closing thoughts on AI's future in the enterprise

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