It feels like we are moving into a slightly different time, one in which we might experience a little more caution in the adoption and financing of AI.
The investor community certainly believes that to be the case, as global technology stocks took a beating in the aftermath of the US midterm elections last week.
Whatever your political leanings, seeing the markets nosedive likely leads to mixed emotions. On the one hand, a correction is overdue and it happening sooner rather than later is probably a good thing. On the other, this might hurt – at least in the short term.
If even the most bullish AI speculator took a step back and put investment fundamentals to the front of their mind, the exposure that markets have to AI-related stocks and the sheer hype and multiples at play, they would admit that things don’t add up. Fundamentals suggest there will be losers.
The fundamentals of the technology, however, are another thing entirely. Whatever the financial impact, or how rich it makes Sam Altman and his like, AI itself will continue to transform all aspects of life. And, not least, the role of humans and the question of what they will do and the capabilities they will require to prosper in the workplace.
It was great to catch up on this topic with Omer Abdullah (pictured above), cofounder of The Smart Cube, a procurement consultancy and GPO provider acquired by WNS in 2022, to debate some of the challenges that CPOs face as they work through this.
Omer has been putting a huge amount of thought into this subject and will be releasing a book in early 2027 titled Future-Proofing the Procurement Practitioner.
He’s currently very active on Substack, sharing long-form content that explores the function’s future capability needs, and what CPOs must do to get ahead of the curve. In a recent LinkedIn post, he summarises what he’s writing.
“It’s about what endures when AI does the routine work: the human edge, how practitioners at every stage build it on purpose and how leaders grow the next generation.”
It’s a rich vein, that all leaders, in every function, must consider deeply and execute at pace. As a result, it’s something Procurement Leaders will be exploring in a dedicated series of community activities across 2027. Watch this space for more.
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