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The KTS Success Factor® (a Podcast for Women)Author: Sarah E. Brown, Ph.D. Language: en Genres: Personal Journals, Relationships, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Re-Placed: How to Think About Your Future in an AI World with Kari Zeller
Wednesday, 2 September, 2026
AI may not just change what you do at work. It could change how you think, where you find your value, and even how you understand your place in the world. Kari Zeller is a U.S. Air Force combat veteran, founder and CEO of TGN Consulting, and a battle-tested leadership strategist who advises boards, CEOs, and senior executive teams across Fortune 100 companies, healthcare systems, retail, private equity, and government. She is the author of Re-placed: Answering the Call of Leadership in the Age of AI, a playbook for executives navigating a future shaped by AI, robotics, and quantum computing. In this episode, Kari explains why the future of work shouldn't be viewed simply as a question of whether AI will replace us. Instead, she introduces the idea of being "re-placed": actively finding a new context where our human contributions, relationships, judgment, intuition, and experience can create value. What you will learn from this episode: Learn why being "re-placed" may be more important than avoiding replacement. Find out how AI can weaken your critical thinking, judgment, and accountability. Discover how to protect your "thinking sovereignty" in an AI-driven world. "To be re-placed is to be placed again." – Kari Zeller Topics Covered: 01:15 – From "replaced" to "re-placed": Kari explains why the future isn't about waiting to see whether technology makes you obsolete, but actively finding where your contribution can matter next. 03:45 – Why AI changes the container of work: Discover why AI is fundamentally different from previous workplace technologies and why it could reshape the place where many people find identity and purpose. 09:15 – The danger of outsourcing your thinking: Learn how excessive reliance on AI recommendations can weaken critical thinking, narrow innovation, and diffuse personal accountability. 12:00 – Protecting your thinking sovereignty: Kari explains why you need to keep practicing your own judgment, decision-making, and ability to navigate complexity. 14:40 – Preparing for an AI-driven future: Sarah and Kari discuss education, critical thinking, values, context, and why knowing the answer may matter less than knowing how to ask the right questions. 17:20 – What is ontological vulnerability?: Kari explains the difference between a threat to what you do and a threat to your identity, purpose, and sense of place in the world. 20:10 – Is work our "buffalo"?: Explore the powerful idea that when work changes dramatically, we may lose more than income or tasks. We may also lose a source of identity, meaning, community, and achievement. 23:00 – Separating your identity from your job: Kari shares how women can begin identifying the deeper value they bring beyond their current role, expertise, or productivity. 25:30 – The value of experiential wisdom: A real-world restaurant scheduling example shows why AI can create an answer in seconds, while human experience can recognize why that answer won't work. 33:00 – Finding the bigger contribution: From blacksmiths to Swiss watchmakers, Kari shares examples of people and industries that adapted by redefining what they were really contributing. 35:20 – Why the future of AI is a leadership question: Kari explains why leadership means actively co-creating a future that matters instead of simply accepting the future created by circumstances. Key Takeaways: "We need to maintain our thinking sovereignty." – Kari Zeller "If you don't use it, you lose it." – Kari Zeller "Operational vulnerability threatens what you do. Ontological vulnerability threatens your sense of who you are and your place in the world." – Kari Zeller "Leadership is about the co-creation of a future that matters and one that we're not on a trajectory for." – Kari Zeller Ways to Connect with Kari Zeller: Book: Re-placed: Answering the Call of Leadership in the Age of AI Website: http://karizeller.com Ways to Connect with Sarah E. Brown: Website: https://www.sarahebrown.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrSarahEBrown LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahebrownphd To speak with her: bookachatwithsarahebrown.com
