AI is powerful, but why is transformation so hard? With University of Exeter

AI is becoming one of those topics where the scale of the claims can make it surprisingly difficult to work out what is actually happening.We are told it will transform business, unlock extraordinary productivity gains, reshape jobs, and even help solve major global challenges like climate change. At the same time, there are growing concerns about energy demand, governance failures, bias, job losses, and the sheer speed at which these systems are developing.The dominant narrative tends to swing between utopian optimism and existential fear, often without spending enough time on a more practical question: what actually happens when AI is introduced into real organisations, real systems, and real decision-making? This is the focus of this week’s episode, which is the first in our AI series.Rather than debating whether AI is inherently good or bad, Felicia Jackson speaks with Professor Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Impact at the University of Exeter and Director of DIGIT Lab, about something much more grounded: why so many digital and AI transformation efforts struggle in practice and what that reveals about the limits of technology alone.One of the most useful distinctions in the conversation was between problems that are well-defined and those that are not. AI is particularly powerful when objectives are clear, data is available, and success can be measured relatively easily. In those contexts - pattern recognition, diagnostics, optimisation - it can offer extraordinary value. But many of the most important challenges organisations face are different.Sustainability, climate strategy, major organisational change, and social systems are messy, politically embedded and filled with trade-offs. They are often what researchers describe as wicked problems: issues where there is no single right answer, where choices create consequences elsewhere, and where uncertainty is part of the challenge itself.That distinction matters because it shifts the conversation. It suggests that AI may be extremely useful in supporting parts of decision-making, but it does not remove the need for human judgment. In fact, in many cases, it may make governance, accountability, and strategic clarity even more important.AI is powerful, but power is not wisdom. Better tools do not automatically create better outcomes. What they do do is make it even more important to understand what kind of organisations, systems and governance structures are capable of using them responsibly. As this new Shaken Not Burned AI arc begins, that feels like the right place to start.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram – and why not spread the word with your friends and colleagues?