AI Outpaces Human Decision-Making, Futurist Neil Redding Warns

By Priya Raman

Eighty-four percent of companies have not restructured even a single role around artificial intelligence, according to a Deloitte study cited by Neil Redding, the American "near futurist" who speaks at Voices 2026 in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, June 19. For Redding, that figure defines the gap leaders must close.

Redding, who holds degrees in Computer Science and Philosophy and spent three decades in software engineering and technology innovation in the United States, concentrates his analysis on the next six to 18 months — the window in which, he says, leaders make their highest-impact decisions. He rejects long-range prophecy.

"You cannot predict the destination, but you can perceive the direction and the speed of the journey," he told O GLOBO in the interview previewing his appearance at the Centro de Convenções Prodigy by Wish, integrated into Santos Dumont Airport and Bossa Nova Mall. Voices 2026 is free with prior registration and is organized by GLOBO with Época Negócios, Pequenas Empresas & Grandes Negócios, TechTudo, Valor Econômico, CBN and Rádio Globo, with sponsorship from the City of Rio and its Municipal Education Department, and partnership with Play9.

What surprised the futurist most?

Redding predicted last year that 2026 would be decisive for augmented reality and that artificial general intelligence could be near. The technology moved in the direction he expected, but at a speed that surprised even him. A year ago, he notes, the conversation centered on writing better prompts for chatbots. Today, AI reasons, plans, executes long tasks with little supervision and even asks users questions.

"The limiting factor is no longer the technology. It is the speed at which people and organizations can make decisions," Redding said. He calls this mismatch "clock drift" — the divergence between the speed of technology and the speed of decisions.

On augmented reality, the surprise was that AI itself became the interface: glasses and devices that carry an assistant with you, rather than immersive headsets. What strikes him most is the inequality of adoption. Some people already work in entirely new ways, while most organizations still operate as if only humans were present.

What changes for professionals in three years?

Redding describes the core shift as "doers to deciders." People will execute fewer tasks themselves and concentrate on decisions. You will ask an AI to plan a trip, compare options and prepare the booking; your role is to approve it. Instead of writing the first draft of a report, you will explain to the AI what you intend to achieve and evaluate what it returns. Small business owners will build simple tools — a reservation system, an inventory control — by describing what they want in plain language.

His test for separating genuine trends from hype is behavioral. "A trend is real when ordinary people change the way they work without anyone ordering them to do so," he said, citing an experienced lawyer who built a legal-review tool for his whole team in a single afternoon using plain language. Hype, by contrast, is the demonstration that changes no one's working day.

Who pays for the transition?

Redding acknowledges that some tasks and some jobs are being replaced and that a transition this fast creates real tensions deserving joint attention from companies, governments and educators. History, he argues, shows technology transforms work more than it eliminates it, as the internet did. The first responsibility lies with employers: redesign roles around what AI makes possible and help people step into them. The Deloitte figure shows where that work has not yet begun.

His advice to young professionals is "delegate first": before starting any task, ask how AI could execute it, then learn to evaluate and refine the result. Those who master directing AI and judging its output will lead the next decade.

On Brazil's approval of the end of the 6x1 shift schedule, Redding declined to comment on the politics but said AI can help organizations produce the same or more in fewer hours — provided gains return time to people rather than only cutting costs. The decisive factor is leadership, not technology, and the question every organization must now answer is what human time is actually for. His answer: "Discernment, relationships and decisions."

Where does Brazil hold an advantage?

Redding, who has lectured across the country, points to a large, digitally fluent population, a vibrant startup ecosystem and leadership positions in agribusiness, energy and financial services. As AI models become commodities, he argues, durable value lies in context — deep, specific knowledge of customers, sectors and ecosystems. Brazil owns context no other country has: tropical agriculture, biodiversity, a singular consumer culture and the particularities of a large informal economy.

His one caution for every practitioner: delegating tasks is healthy; delegating judgment is not. "The risk is not thinking with AI. The risk is stopping thinking when it gives you an answer." The practical question for marketers and business leaders over the next 18 months is which decisions they intend to keep.