What I’m Hearing on the Speaking Circuit: 5 Ways Leaders’ AI Questions Have Changed

Source: Secure Dallas Photographer

What I’m Hearing on the Speaking Circuit: 5 Ways Leaders’ AI Questions Have Changed

 

After every keynote, there’s a moment I love. The Q&A session. My second favorite moment? When the lights come up and a line forms. That’s when I hear the questions people didn’t want to ask in front of the whole room.

Over the last 18 months, on stages and in boardrooms across the United States and in ten countries, those questions have changed.

Here are five shifts I’m noticing, and why every one of them makes me hopeful.

1. Leaders have moved from “Should we use AI?” to “Can we trust it?”

A year or two ago, the question was whether to jump in. Now almost everyone is in, and the question is about trust: trusting the tools, trusting the outputs, and trusting that the person on the other end of the call is real.

The nugget: Trust isn’t a feeling. It’s a set of habits you can build, like verifying requests through a second channel and giving every AI system a named human owner.

2. Deepfakes are the question I hear most, and the answer is surprisingly low-tech

People have heard about the Arup employee in Hong Kong who sent $25.6 million after a video call in which every other participant was a deepfake. Fewer have heard about the Ferrari executive who stopped a deepfake of his CEO by asking which book the real CEO had recommended days earlier.

The nugget: The defense that worked was a question only the real person could answer. You can put that in place by Friday, at no cost.

3. Audiences are asking about their customers’ AI, not just their own

This one is a newer addition. Executives want to know whether to let customers’ AI agents shop, book, and pay on their websites, and how to tell a helpful agent from a fraud bot. With Adobe data cited by Visa showing a 4,700% jump in AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites in a single year, it’s the right question.

The nugget: Let agents in on your terms. Browsing can be open, purchases can have limits, and anything like changing a password or bank account should always require the human.

4. People are asking whether AI is right, not just whether it works

I’m hearing more questions about the chips, data centers, and electricity behind AI, and whether using it is moral. The International Energy Agency projects data center electricity use will more than double by 2030. Leaders want to use AI responsibly, and I find that encouraging.

The nugget: Right-size it. Not every email summary needs the most powerful model on the market. The smallest tool that does the job well is greener, cheaper, and more resilient.

5. Everyone, everywhere, lands on the same answer: human-centered AI

In Switzerland, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, and beyond, I expected ten philosophies about AI. Instead, I heard one common theme: AI must serve people, not replace them.

The nugget: The leaders furthest ahead put people first, set principles before rules, and treat security and privacy as the foundation for speed, not a brake on it.

“The organizations that will win with AI aren’t the ones moving the fastest. They’re the ones that can move fast and still be trusted.” — Theresa Payton

The word Hopeful as a sign

Why I’m hopeful

The questions give me hope! Leaders are asking about trust, people, and responsibility, not just speed and cost. That’s exactly where the answers live.

And no one has to figure this out alone. Some of the best conversations I’ve had this year started with an event planner or client saying, “Here’s what our people are worried about.” From there, we build the session together, whether it’s a keynote, a fireside chat, or a board briefing. We shape it around your audience’s real questions, with true stories, fresh data, and practical steps they can use the next morning.

If you’re planning an event and your audience is asking these questions too, let’s start that conversation. Kelly Skibbie at KPA Speaker Management would be glad to help: info@kpaspeakermgt.com, 703.217.0569, or https://www.kpaspeakermgt.com.

Blessings,

Theresa

Sources

•    CNN, Arup revealed as $25 million deepfake scam victim: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/16/tech/arup-deepfake-scam-loss-hong-kong-intl-hnk

•    MIT Sloan Management Review, How Ferrari Hit the Brakes on a Deepfake CEO: https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-ferrari-hit-the-brakes-on-a-deepfake-ceo/

•    Visa, Trusted Agent Protocol press release: https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.21716.html

•    International Energy Agency, Energy and AI, Executive Summary: https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-and-ai/executive-summary

Want to know more about securing AI?

Follow this blog where we'll cover topics such as:

AI security for leaders

AI Safety

AI Security

Deepfakes

AI Agents

Human-Centered AI

AI Ethics

AI Algorithms

AI Transformation

Digital Trust and Protection

Frequently Asked Questions

What AI questions are leaders asking most right now?

Leaders are asking whether they can trust AI, not just whether to use it. The most common questions are about deepfake fraud, customers’ AI agents, who is responsible when AI gets something wrong, and whether AI’s energy use is responsible.

Can a deepfake really trick employees into sending money?Y

es. In 2024, an Arup employee in Hong Kong sent $25.6 million after a video call in which every other participant was a deepfake. That same year, a Ferrari executive stopped a deepfake of his CEO by asking a question only the real CEO could answer.

What’s the simplest way to protect against deepfake fraud?

Verify before you act, through a channel the criminal doesn’t control. Call back on a known number, use a verification question only the real person would know, and require a second approver for payments. None of these steps costs money.

Should businesses let customers’ AI agents use their websites?

Yes, with guardrails. Adobe data cited by Visa shows AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites jumped 4,700% in a year. Allow verified agents to browse, set limits on purchases, and always require the human for high-risk actions like changing a password or bank account.

Is it responsible to use AI, given how much energy it needs?

It can be, if you right-size it. The International Energy Agency projects data center electricity use will more than double by 2030. Using the smallest AI tool that does the job well is greener, cheaper, and more resilient.

What does “human-centered AI” mean?

Human-centered AI means AI serves people rather than replaces them. In meetings with leaders across ten countries, Theresa Payton heard this same theme everywhere: put people first, set principles before rules, and treat security and privacy as the foundation for speed.

What topics does Theresa Payton speak on?

Theresa Payton speaks on AI, cybersecurity, deepfakes, digital trust, and leadership. She is the former White House Chief Information Officer and CEO of Fortalice Solutions, and she tailors each keynote, fireside chat, and board briefing to the audience’s real questions.