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Think Ahead · April 30 · 36 min

Who’s really in charge? Human oversight in an age of autonomous AI

As AI evolves from offering advice to taking action, organisations face a critical question: who is really in charge? To discuss, Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics and Dean at London Business School, is joined by Dr Ekaterina Abramova, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management Science and Operations at London Business School, and Sue Preston, Worldwide Vice President and General Manager of Advisory and Professional Services at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Together, they explore how leaders can retain control, ensure safety and maintain trust as AI systems become more autonomous. From agentic AI and execution risk to fairness, bias and shadow AI, the conversation bridges cutting-edge academic research with real-world experience from global AI deployments. The discussion unpacks why human oversight must be meaningful, not symbolic, and how organisations can design governance, guardrails and operating models that allow AI to scale responsibly without undermining trust. Tune in to learn: · Why the shift from AI copilots to autonomous agents changes the risk profile for organisations · What meaningful human oversight really looks like when machines plan and act · How bias and fairness emerge in autonomous systems and why they must be designed for early · The organisational and cultural changes needed to deploy trustworthy AI at scale For more thought leadership and business insights from London Business School faculty and alumni, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.london.edu/think⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sign up to receive a curated selection of articles, podcasts and films direct to your inbox twice a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.london.edu/think?entry=true#subscribeScreen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on social media: ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/school/london-business-school⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/LondonBusinessSchool⁠⁠⁠ instagram.com/londonbschool

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show notes

As AI evolves from offering advice to taking action, organisations face a critical question: who is really in charge?

To discuss, Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics and Dean at London Business School, is joined by Dr Ekaterina Abramova, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Management Science and Operations at London Business School, and Sue Preston, Worldwide Vice President and General Manager of Advisory and Professional Services at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Together, they explore how leaders can retain control, ensure safety and maintain trust as AI systems become more autonomous. From agentic AI and execution risk to fairness, bias and shadow AI, the conversation bridges cutting-edge academic research with real-world experience from global AI deployments.

The discussion unpacks why human oversight must be meaningful, not symbolic, and how organisations can design governance, guardrails and operating models that allow AI to scale responsibly without undermining trust.

Tune in to learn:

· Why the shift from AI copilots to autonomous agents changes the risk profile for organisations

· What meaningful human oversight really looks like when machines plan and act

· How bias and fairness emerge in autonomous systems and why they must be designed for early

· The organisational and cultural changes needed to deploy trustworthy AI at scale

For more thought leadership and business insights from London Business School faculty and alumni, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.london.edu/think⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  

Sign up to receive a curated selection of articles, podcasts and films direct to your inbox twice a month at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.london.edu/think?entry=true#subscribeScreen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  

Follow us on social media: ⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/school/london-business-school⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 

⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/LondonBusinessSchool⁠⁠⁠ 

instagram.com/londonbschool

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