Beyond the algorithm

Artificial intelligence can generate insights, recommendations, forecasts and content at unprecedented speed. Yet the most important leadership decisions still depend on judgement.

In this masterclass, Dave Snowden and Sarah Freiesleben explore how leaders can combine data, expertise, AI, narrative, context and collective intelligence to navigate complexity and make wiser decisions in an increasingly uncertain world.

• Why the search for certainty can become a leadership trap
• How AI is changing the nature of leadership judgement
• Different ways of knowing: data, expertise, algorithms, narrative, experience, & context
• How to recognize weak signals before they are dismissed as noise
• Working with probability and possibility simultaneously
• The role of abductive reasoning and human sensemaking in an AI-enabled world
• How leaders can combine machine intelligence, expertise and collective intelligence more effectively
• The value of useful variety when navigating uncertainty
• Why judgement emerges through interaction, not analysis alone
• Practical approaches for making decisions when there is no obvious right answer

Dave Snowden is the creator of the Cynefin Framework and Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of The Cynefin Company. His work explores complexity, sensemaking, AI, abductive reasoning and the limits of algorithmic decision-making. He is internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading thinkers on complexity and leadership.

Sarah Freiesleben is Senior Consultant at Mannaz and author of The Opposite of Noise: Engaging with Variety for Positive Change. Her work focuses on agency, emergence, useful variety, collective intelligence and helping leaders create the conditions for positive change.