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Convergence - The Signature Series

Convergence - The Signature Series

Written by: Faisal Hoque
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 The lines between technology, business, and leadership are blurring. In a world of constant disruption, success is no longer about mastering one domain, but about navigating the pivotal intersections where they converge.

Join bestselling author and entrepreneur Faisal Hoque and award-winning AI podcast host Lauren Hawker Zafer for Convergence, the series that deconstructs the complex forces shaping our future.

Each episode provides actionable frameworks and candid insights on digital transformation, AI integration, modern leadership, and sustainable growth.Copyright Faisal Hoque Economics
Episodes
  • Episode 11: Top 10 AI Questions for 2026: Liability, Deepfakes, Agentic Enterprise

    Episode 11: Top 10 AI Questions for 2026: Liability, Deepfakes, Agentic Enterprise
    Jan 14 2026
    As 2026 unfolds, we’re stepping into the era of the Agentic Enterprise where autonomous AI systems are not just tools, but active participants in decision-making, creativity, and leadership.

    In this first episode of the 2026 Convergence season, Lauren Hawker Zafer and Faisal Hoque unpack the most pressing real-world questions shaping the AI transformation: from digital trust and corporate liability to the ethics of deepfakes, sustainability, and the future of human collaboration.

    Can enterprises truly trust AI to act responsibly? Who is accountable when intelligent agents go wrong? And what does leadership look like when machines begin to shape judgment itself?

    This episode explores how businesses, policymakers, and talent can navigate the rise of AI agents, balancing innovation with ethics, efficiency with empathy, and automation with accountability.

    Listen to discover:

    • The rise of the Agentic Enterprise and responsibility in the age of autonomous systems.
    • How deepfakes redefine authenticity, trust, and influence.
    • The hidden environmental cost of AI — and how enterprises can act responsibly.
    • Why human insight and authenticity remain the ultimate competitive advantage.
    • The evolving relationship between leaders, agents, and digital ethics.


    00:00 — Intro: Entering the Age of the Agent Enterprise
    01:25 — 2026 and the Shift from Tool to Partner
    02:45 — Top 10 AI Questions: What We’ll Explore
    03:25 — Question 1: Who’s Liable When an AI Agent Makes a Mistake?
    06:15 — Enterprise Responsibility and Context Blindness
    08:45 — Why Full AI Autonomy Is Still a Risky Bet
    10:15 — Shared Liability: Human, Vendor, and System Errors
    11:45 — Legal and Ethical Ecosystems Around AI Agents
    12:15 — Question 2: How Much Energy and Water Does AI Consume?
    13:45 — Environmental Impact and Data Center Footprints
    15:15 — Sustainable AI: Smaller Models, Sharper Focus
    16:10 — Carbon Footprints, AI Energy Taxes, and Future Regulation
    16:35 — Question 3: If AI Is a Commodity, Where’s the Competitive Edge?
    17:45 — Authenticity, Storytelling, and Brand Differentiation
    19:15 — Information vs. Wisdom: The Value of Human Expertise
    21:05 — Question 4: Can I Pay for AI Visibility (GEO & SEO in 2026)?
    22:45 — Sponsored Responses and Bias in Generative Models
    24:15 — Fairness, Transparency, and “Pay to Play” AI
    25:15 — Question 5: Solving the Apprentice Gap in the AI Workforce
    26:30 — The Importance of Entry-Level Roles in an AI-Driven Economy
    27:45 — Middle Management as the Organizational Glue
    28:35 — Human-AI Apprenticeship: Collaboration Over Replacement
    30:00 — Closing Thoughts: Agents, Leadership, and the Year Ahead

    Convergence: The Signature Series The lines between technology, business, and humanity are blurring. In a world of constant disruption, success is no longer about mastering one domain — it’s about navigating the pivotal intersections where they converge.Join Lauren Hawker Zafer and Faisal Hoque for Convergence, the series that deconstructs the complex forces shaping our future. Based on hands-on experience, research, and publications, each episode provides actionable frameworks and candid insights on humanity, business, ethics, transformation, AI, modern leadership, governance, sustainable growth, and philosophy.

    AgenticEnterprise #DigitalTrust #Deepfakes #AILeadership #ConvergencePodcast #AIEthics #FutureOfWork #2026 Predictions
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    31 mins
  • Episode 10: Winning Leadership Strategy for 2026: Steadfast and Adaptive

    Episode 10: Winning Leadership Strategy for 2026: Steadfast and Adaptive
    Jan 2 2026
    Pivoting or panicking?

    In a world of nonstop disruption, resilience is often confused with constant change. But real resilience doesn’t mean chasing every trend—it means knowing what should never change.

    In this episode of Convergence, Lauren Hawker Zafer and Faisal Hoque unpack a powerful paradox: the most enduring leaders are immovable in purpose and radically flexible in execution.

    From Kodak’s failure to adapt, to Patagonia’s refusal to chase short-term profit, we explore why saying no can be the most strategic move a leader makes.If you’re feeling pressure to pivot—especially in the middle of the AI hype cycle—this conversation will help you separate purpose from method, avoid transformation fatigue, and build resilience that actually lasts.

    Quick Jump00:43 Intro: AI Hype and Pivot Pressure

    01:31 Pivot Fatigue: Panic vs. True Resilience
    02:30 Welcome to Convergence: Paradox of Resistance
    02:53 Unpacking the Steadfast-Adaptive Paradox
    03:54 Why Stays Fixed, How Evolves Flexibly 04:40 Scaleups: Sticking to Why Amid Temptations 06:00 Defining ‘Why’ Beyond Mission Statements
    07:30 Kodak’s Fall: Rigid How, Not Why 08:22 Falling in Love with Product, Not Problem
    09:45 Courage in Leadership and Patagonia Example
    12:02 Gold Rushes vs. Long-Lasting Domain Focus
    13:59 Product-Market Fit: Saying No Early
    15:09 Discipline from Leaders, Boards, Investors
    16:24 Stakeholder Pressures in AI Boom
    17:29 Purpose vs. Method: Sustainable Growth
    19:30 Portfolio of Innovation: Many Hows
    20:27 Avoiding Change Fatigue in Employees
    21:43 Building an Engine of How for Stability

    Convergence: The Signature Series The lines between technology, business, and humanity are blurring. In a world of constant disruption, success is no longer about mastering one domain — it’s about navigating the pivotal intersections where they converge.

    Join Lauren Hawker Zafer and Faisal Hoque for Convergence, the series that deconstructs the complex forces shaping our future. Based on hands-on experience, research, and publications, each episode provides actionable frameworks and candid insights on humanity, business, ethics, transformation, AI, modern leadership, governance, sustainable growth, and philosophy.
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    28 mins
  • Episode 9: AI: The Paradox - People-First Leadership.

    Episode 9: AI: The Paradox - People-First Leadership.
    Dec 4 2025
    Leaders race to deploy AI at cheetah speed, but can regulation and ethics ever catch up? In this live Zurich Studio Recording Hosts: Faisal Hoque and Lauren Hawker Zafer dissect regenerative leadership, AI’s human cost, and the future of work, from Thinkers50 insights and Switzerland’s “golden cage” to widening divides in wealth, power, and opportunity.

    They tackle the hard questions: Will AI amplify human creativity and values, or erode agency? Does gender shift in tech demand more female leaders for balance? And if you had $1B to close the AI gap tomorrow: infrastructure, talent, or regulation? Their surprising two-sentence answer might redefine “responsible AI.”

    Watch to the end and pick your side in this pivotal shift.

    The hard question: are leaders amplifying their values with AI—or surrendering them?
    Quick Jump00:00 – Live Episode Intro: From Zurich, the “Golden Cage” of Switzerland
    01:30 – Inside the Thinkers50 Event – The Oscars of Management Thinking
    03:00 – Regenerative Leadership: Learning from Nature
    04:00 – Sustainability vs. Profit: Where Change Really Happens
    05:30 – AI’s Real-World Impact and Why We Always Come Back to It
    06:20 – Practitioners in the AI Age: Complexity and Opportunity
    07:00 – Ethics, Governance, and Organizational Psychology
    08:00 – The Human Cost of AI Adoption: Anxiety, Layoffs, and the Next Generation
    10:00 – Leading in the Age of AI: Balancing Wisdom, Purpose, and Innovation
    11:30 – Gender and Opportunity: The Scott Galloway Debate
    12:30 – Women in Tech: Representation, Ego, and Emotional Intelligence
    13:30 – Opportunity for All: How AI Could Create or Close Gaps
    17:00 – Creativity and the Right Brain Revolution
    18:00 – Amplify or Surrender: The Future of Human Intelligence
    19:00 – Superintelligence and the Question of Control
    20:00 – People First or Profit First? Lessons from OpenAI and Regulation
    21:00 – The Cheetah and the Horse: Why Innovation Outruns Regulation
    23:00 – The Leader’s Dilemma: Implementing AI at Speed
    24:00 – Economic Pressure and the Risk of a Global Divide
    25:00 – The Future of Work and Small Business Survival
    26:00 – Quick Fire Wrap-Up: 1 Billion to Close the AI Gap

    Convergence: The Signature Series

    The lines between technology, business, and humanity are blurring. In a world of constant disruption, success is no longer about mastering one domain — it’s about navigating the pivotal intersections where they converge.Join Lauren Hawker Zafer and Faisal Hoque for Convergence, the series that deconstructs the complex forces shaping our future. Based on hands-on experience, research, and publications, each episode provides actionable frameworks and candid insights on humanity, business, ethics, transformation, AI, modern leadership, governance, sustainable growth, and philosophy.
    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
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