AI is ‘not a silver bullet’ to replace strong leadership – Daily Business

Alex Van Sant, Aaron Edgar, David McFarlane and Gavin Allan at DataFest (pic: DB Media Services)

Business managers should not see artificial intelligence as a “silver bullet” to replace strong leadership at their companies, a conference in Edinburgh has heard.

While some tasks would no longer be undertaken by humans, AI should be used to drive value and enhance the role of employees.

Alex Van Sant of Accenture, speaking on AI’s impact on the future workforce at DataFest 2026, said: “Business leaders only see it as a tech challenge. It is a people challenge. It makes the role of leaders more important.”

She said managers had to take responsibility for building their own AI knowledge and should provide the tools and space for AI required by their workforce.

Giving an example of a manager using AI to send automated emails to an employee, she said: “Do not lose the human touch. Choose what you are using AI for.” She warned against losing trust and integrity by mis-using AI.

David McFarlane of Capco said simply: “AI is not a silver bullet. Understand leadership and use AI to drive value.”

Responding to questions about how students should be prepared for this changing work environment, he said: “We have a generation that is technically savvy”, adding that they needed to learn how to use these digital skills in the AI world.

He also warned managers against running before they could walk. “Organisations want to jump straight to AI solutions. They need to build out core skills,” he said.

Aaron Edgar of Teradata agreed: “Ask if the foundations are in place,” he said.

The sold-out two-day conference at the Assembly Rooms, organised by the DataLab, has attracted 600 delegates.

DataFest is organised by The Data Lab (pic: DB Media Services)

Today (Thursday), Dex Hunter-Torricke, a two-decade veteran of the global tech industry – who has worked at the highest levels alongside Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Eric Schmidt and others – will explore a different model for leadership that is now emerging.

He will say that the leaders who thrive in the coming decades “will be systems thinkers in a world of siloed institutions, coalition builders in an era of fracture and those who can connect cutting-edge tools with a compelling human story and theory of change for the world around us.”

Another session will ask whether the public sector is ready to adopt AI to improve services and unlock innovation.

A panel will look at how AI is reshaping music, art, writing and design The day will conclude with a talk by one of the most influential internet pioneers of our time.

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, will take part in a fireside chat on trust, truth and the future of information in the AI era.

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