As we continue to shape our thinking on AI and its role in our businesses, leaders on the forefront of tech innovation are busy imagining what this world could — and should — look like.

Tatyana Mamut is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wayfound, an agent management platform for building, analysing and supervising AI agents. Tatya is also an anthropologist, and uniquely positioned to help us to understand AI and its role in business.

BlueOcean Marketing Strategist, Dale, sat down with Tatyana at KiwiSaaS 2024 to discuss what Tatanya calls the "multi-sapiens future" — a world where human and artificial intelligences coexist and collaborate towards the betterment of the future. Tatyana believes that business leaders are uniquely positioned to steer their organisations towards success and innovation using AI.
Here are our five key takeaways from the interview.

Make sure to listen in to the full conversation here. 

1. We can collaborate with AI to develop new technologies that effectively address human needs

"The hard problems in technology are people problems...who better than an anthropologist to deal with those problems?"

Tatyana argues that the most significant challenges in technology are not about the technology itself, but about addressing human needs effectively. AI, when designed with human-centric principles, can vastly improve how we understand and meet these needs.

As the founder and CEO of Wayfound, Tatyana leverages her background in anthropology to create AI solutions that are deeply integrated with human behaviors and cultural norms. Her approach demonstrates that leaders who empathise deeply with both their teams and customers can drive incredible innovation.

2. Business leaders must understand the role of AI in their organisation then adopt it with confidence

"AI is going to be much better at data-driven decisions...leaders need to shift to intuitive decision-making." We need to have confidence in how we're driving forward, and what people ultimately buy is a vision of the future and a hope that you will be a partner to get there to their desired vision.”

Fear often accompanies the introduction of disruptive technologies like AI. Tatyana emphasises the importance of embracing these technologies as tools that augment rather than replace human capabilities, encouraging confidence among leaders and their teams. Once AI solutions are identified, Tatyana advocates for buying an AI agent or AI agent platform which has an ethical moral compass that is in-line with your organisation. It might truly matter to you and your customers in terms of the outcome that you get.

3. Embracing AI in B2B leadership with courage, heart, intention and innovation will lead to better outcomes

“We want to think about where are we going and how are we going to build the products and the solutions that are going to be one small step to getting to the world we want to build.”

Sometimes, as business leaders, we optimise for short-term returns. Tatayna asks if that’s really the game we should be playing with AI, and encourages moving forward with heart and intention. To Tatyana, that looks like continuing to innovate, and to build the world our children want to live in through our products and solutions.

 

4. To enable a better transition into the future, we can integrate AI into our culture, norms and values.

The integration of AI into society must be handled with care to reflect our cultural norms and values. Tatyana's work aims to embed these human elements into AI, ensuring that these technologies act as extensions of our societal ethos rather than disruptions. When AI meets a new human, Tatyana says, its natural inclination should be helpful and caring.

"Let's bring AI into our culture and our cultural norms and our values."

5. The call for ethical adoption of AI by B2B leaders

"We need to remember that a kind AI is one that is part of this larger ecosystem of humanity."

Ethical considerations are paramount when deploying new AI solutions into our organisations. Tatyana advocates for a model where AI's learning is directed by constructive, and kind, human feedback, mirroring the nurturing guidance we provide to our own children. This approach ensures that AI develops in a way that supports humane and ethical outcomes. Tatyana also advocates for using your manners when working with AI - they are after all, learning on a level that we can’t comprehend.

Intuitive B2B leaders like Tatyana Mamut exemplify the balance between leveraging advanced AI technologies and fostering an environment where human wisdom and ethics guide decision-making.

Make sure to listen to the full episode on your platform of choice.