The Economist’s management columnist Andrew Palmer is returning with a new series of his business podcast Boss Class.
As AI changes work fast, and managers are forced to respond, the series examines how it is reshaping leadership, careers, and competition at work. It focuses on how managers and employees can move from anxiety to opportunity as AI becomes unavoidable.
The new run of episodes confronts the growing pressure facing organisations to deploy AI tools, often before they fully understand them.
While some see artificial intelligence as overhyped, others believe it could replace entire roles, and Palmer argues that even if AI does not take your job, a rival who knows how to use it might.
Across the series, Palmer tests the technology himself, from cloning his own working methods to coding and deploying autonomous agents.
Rather than taking a purely theoretical view, the podcast follows his hands-on attempts to understand what AI can genuinely do well, and where it continues to fall short.
The first episode, Meet the bots, explores the strange and fast-moving world of generative AI.
As its capabilities spread rapidly, Palmer compares bold claims about the end of human jobs with the frustration expressed by managers trying to make the technology work in practice.
In episode two, Feeling the vibe, the focus turns to coding, an area where AI has shown startling strength.
Palmer looks at how the technology can help beginners build software, while also fuelling cyber warfare among hackers, and questions why it struggles with other tasks.
The third episode, The easy button, offers practical workplace advice.
Palmer speaks to academics, executives, and AI specialists about where artificial intelligence adds value, the hidden costs involved, and whether it can genuinely support management workflows.
Episode four, GenAI v GenZ, tackles fears around entry-level jobs.
It examines whether companies will still hire graduates if AI appears to outperform them, and how employers can identify real talent when applications are increasingly AI-assisted.
In Call my agent, Palmer looks ahead to autonomous AI agents capable of handling entire roles.
He explores how managers might oversee these systems, and how workers can keep up as the pace of change accelerates.
The final episode, The human edge, asks what will remain uniquely human as white-collar work is increasingly automated.
Palmer argues that skills such as judgement, taste, deep expertise, and interpersonal understanding may become the most valuable advantages of all.
The new series of Boss Class launches on Thursday 29 January.
