The Agent Effect

Enterprises are racing to deploy AI agents and discovering that “it works in a pilot” isn’t the same as “it’s safe in production.” In this episode, Benjamin Larsen unpacks the World Economic Forum’s AI Agents in Action report, exploring how organizations can classify agentic systems, assess risk, measure performance, and design governance frameworks that enable — rather than slow — innovation in the decade of AI agents.

Patricio Salvatore La Rosa shares how Bayer is building the foundational components of agentic AI in a complex, biologically driven production environment. He explains the prerequisites for adoption –data quality, system connectivity, governance, and cultural trust – and how these elements enable agents to support everything from operational scheduling to future autonomous field interventions.

Cognizant set a Guinness World Record by hosting the world’s largest GenAI hackathon with over 53,000 participants across 40 countries. In this episode, Arumugam Kamaradassan and Deepak Singh share how Cognizant vibe coded the submissions process including the entry portal and used a multi-agent system for judging, evaluating over 30,000 submissions in under 24 hours.

Leo S. Mackay, Jr. shares what it takes to scale agentic AI at the enterprise level — and why most organizations are starting in the wrong place. Drawing on leadership roles in national defense, ethics, and the boardroom, he unpacks how trust, domain expertise, and the right strategic partners create the conditions for real AI transformation.

Kim Krogh Andersen joins Paul Jarratt to share how enterprises can move beyond AI hype and build the foundational systems and leadership mindset to scale agents safely and strategically.