The AI dilemma: Securing and leveraging AI for cyber defense
The technology meant to give businesses an advantage is becoming the target used against them. AT&T’s chief information security officer captured the challenge: “What we’re experiencing today is no different than what we’ve experienced in the past. The only difference with AI is speed and impact.”12 Organizations must secure AI across four domains—data, models, applications, and infrastructure—but they also have the opportunity to use AI-powered defenses to fight threats operating at machine speed.
Throughout this year’s report, you’ll meet technology leaders successfully navigating this sea change. They don’t have all the answers, but there are noticeable patterns as they light the way forward.
- They lead with problems, not technology. Broadcom’s CIO: “Without focusing on a specific business problem and the value you want to derive, it could be easy to invest in AI and receive no return.”13
- Specifically, their biggest problems. UiPath CEO: “Rather than getting stuck in a cycle of perpetual proofs of concept, consider attacking your biggest problem and going for a big outcome.”14
- They prioritize velocity over perfection. Western Digital’s CIO: “We’d rather fail fast on small pilots than miss the wave entirely.”15
- They design with people, not just for them. Walmart involved store associates in building its scheduling app, which includes shift swapping, schedule visibility, and employee control. The result: Scheduling time dropped from 90 minutes to 30 minutes, and people actually used the app.16
- They treat change as continuous. Coca-Cola’s CIO described their journey as moving from “What can we do?” to “What should we do?”17 That shift—from capability-first to need-first—is what separates productive experimentation from pilot purgatory.
I’ve tracked technology evolution long enough to recognize the patterns. The internet changed everything. Mobile reshaped consumer behavior. Cloud computing was transformative.
But this moment is different.
It’s not just that AI is powerful. It’s that the S-curves are compressing. The distance between emerging and mainstream is collapsing.
Organizations built for sequential improvement can’t compete with those operating in continuous learning loops. The traditional playbook assumed you had time to get it right. That assumption no longer holds.
The organizations that succeed will probably not be those with the most sophisticated technology. They’ll be those with the courage to redesign rather than automate, the discipline to connect every investment to business outcomes, and the velocity to execute before the window closes.
Innovation compounds. The gap between laggards and leaders grows exponentially. How you respond determines which side of that gap you’re on.
But you don’t have to navigate this alone. We hope this year’s publication reminds you that everyone’s facing this rapid pace of change, and together, we can shape what comes next.
Kelly Raskovich
Executive editor, Tech Trends
