‘AI’s success is based on effective bundling of technology with human judgment, leadership, execution’

Project success in the artificial intelligence era will increasingly depend on how effectively organisations combine technology with human judgment, leadership and execution, said Amit Goyal, managing director, South Asia, Project Management Institute (PMI) at the institute’s annual conference, PMSAC26, held here on Saturday.

As artificial intelligence reshaped jobs, business models and technology delivery, India’s strong technology ecosystem and its ability to adopt and scale new technologies were expected to position it well for the next phase of growth, he observed.

Quoting McKinsey’s State of AI report, Mr. Goyal, however, said only 39% of organisations report an enterprise-level EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) impact from AI, underscoring the challenge of translating adoption into measurable business outcomes.

PMI is a Pennsylvania-headquartered not-for-profit organisation that serves millions of project professionals and changemakers globally by providing them standards, certifications, resources, and networking opportunities to help them advance in their professions.

A wide spectrum of global industry leaders who spoke at the conference, themed around ‘Future-Ready Leadership in the Age of AI’, shared practical perspectives and strategies to collaboratively examine what it would take to turn the AI ambition of businesses globally into meaningful outcomes.

Business leaders also dealt around topics including how AI was reshaping project success and project execution and also the growing importance of combining technology with strategic thinking, human judgment, adaptability, leadership and strong execution capabilities.

Speaking at an interactive session, Johannes Heinlein, interim president and CEO of PMI, said having technical knowledge alone won’t make a professional unique. “What is critical today is learning, updating constantly and learning to stay relevant in the job market,” Mr. Heinlein said, adding, “While AI taken away certain kinds of coding jobs, it also created newer kinds of career opportunities.”