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Lynn Thoman is a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the founder of 3 Takeaways, a top 1% global podcast known for distilling big ideas from influential leaders shaping policy, business, and society.

Drawing on experience across corporate strategy, public sector advisory work, and board service at institutions such as the Brookings Institution and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Lynn brings a cross-sector lens to how AI is reshaping decision-making, learning, and human potential.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why AI is best understood as an amplifier of human capability, especially in leadership, where judgment and choices matter more than technology.
• How the real upside of AI is giving people more space for imagination, empathy, and meaningful human connection.
• How to prepare students and professionals for an AI-shaped job market by prioritizing learning paths, adaptability, and relationships over fixed career tracks.
• Why the biggest risks of AI come from small, hard-to-detect changes in data or models that can create serious downstream harm.
• How AI is pushing education, work, and leadership back toward core human skills like judgment, curiosity, and imagination.
• Where cautious optimism comes from, including AI’s potential to expand access to knowledge, healthcare, and opportunity when used with care.

Resources:

• Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter
• Connect with Lynn on LinkedIn
• AI fun fact article
• On How genAI studios launch AI-first companies

Other podcast episodes mentioned on the show:

• On reinventing the academic curriculum for MBAs with Dave Marchick, Dean of the Kogod School of Business
• From 3 Takeaways:
  • The Genetic Revolution Has Begun - George Church on What Comes Next
  • The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business: Setting the Table with Union Square Hospitality Group Founder & CEO Danny Meyer

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Every January 24, the world celebrates the International Day of Education, a reminder that learning remains one of the most powerful drivers of opportunity, mobility, and social progress.

In this special compilation episode of AI and the Future of Work, we revisit conversations with education leaders, university deans, and workforce innovators exploring how AI is transforming learning, access, credentials, and lifelong education.

From academic integrity and digital classrooms to reskilling and future-ready education models, this episode highlights one essential truth: technology can accelerate learning, but education must remain human-centered.

Featuring insights from:

• Chris Caren (CEO, Turnitin) - Listen to the full conversation here: https://aiandthefutureofwork.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/15780222
• Marni Baker Stein (Chief Content Officer, Coursera) - Listen to the full conversation here: https://aiandthefutureofwork.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/17359747
• Dave Treat (Chief Technology Officer, Pearson) - Listen to the full conversation here: https://aiandthefutureofwork.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/17557154
• Dave Marchick (Dean, Kogod School of Business, American University) - Listen to the full conversation here: https://aiandthefutureofwork.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/17119724
• Gary Bolles (Chair for the Future of Work, Singularity University) - Listen to the full conversation here: https://aiandthefutureofwork.buzzsprout.com/520474/episodes/9236086

What You’ll Learn:

• How AI is reshaping education and digital learning models
• Why academic integrity matters more than ever in the age of generative AI
• How universities and platforms expand access to global education
• Why lifelong learning and reskilling are becoming essential career skills
• How educators prepare students for future work and leadership
• Which human skills remain critical in an AI-driven economy

Inspired by something you heard?
Share this episode with someone passionate about education and the future of learning. And don’t forget to subscribe for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of work.

Other special episodes:

• Lessons from Four Unicorn CEOs Disrupting Massive Markets with AI (Special Episode)
• Artificial General Intelligence: Can Machines Really Think Like Us? (Special Episode)
• Ethical AI in Hiring: How to Stay Compliant While Building a Fairer Future of Work (HR Day Special Episode)
• AI and the Law: How AI Will Change Legal Careers (Special Episode)
• AI and Safety: How Responsible Tech Leaders Build Trustworthy Systems (National Safety Month Special)
• Lessons from Leaders: How AI Is Redefining Work and the Human Experience (Labor Day Special Episode)
• 365: What We’ve Learned from 364 Expert Conversations (Special Episode)

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Amit Bendov is the co-founder and CEO of Gong, the revenue AI platform he started in 2015 after realizing that traditional CRM systems tracked outcomes but failed to explain why deals were won or lost. That insight led him to focus on customer conversations as the missing source of truth in sales. Since its founding, Gong has raised more than $580 million and reached a valuation of $7.25 billion. Today, Gong helps sales teams reduce manual work, improve performance, and better understand what customers are actually saying.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why traditional CRM systems track what happened but fail to explain why deals are won or lost, and how that gap led to the rise of Revenue AI as a new category.
• How Gong’s Revenue AI differs from CRM by analyzing sales conversations, reducing manual admin work, and actively helping sellers prepare, follow up, and improve performance in real time.
• The emotional cost of sales work, and how using AI to remove administrative burden improves both sales results and seller job satisfaction.
• What it takes to build trust in AI tools that analyze customer conversations, including data stewardship, transparency, and delivering clear value to sellers.
• How an AI-first product vision can exist years before the technology is ready, and what it means to design systems for autonomy rather than simple automation.
• The reality behind “overnight success,” including early product-market fit tests, paid pilots that felt risky, and navigating growth slowdowns without abandoning the original vision.

Resources:

• Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter
• Connect with Amit on LinkedIn
• AI fun fact article
• On How AI Is Changing Finance: Data Challenges, Collaboration, and Future Trends with Mike Schuster
• Other episode mentioned in the show:
  • On AI Design Philosophy and Building the Anti-PowerPoint with Grant Lee, CEO of Gamma