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Your AI agents need performance management, too

August 26, 2026 · 30 min

Show notes

Agents: Everybody’s got them. But who’s managing them? And what happens to the human talent working alongside them—and being asked to show up differently as a result? “The rise of AI doesn’t mean we all suddenly devolve our responsibilities for quality control and critical thinking,” says Kate Smaje, McKinsey’s global leader of technology and AI and coauthor of the recent book Rewired. “That’s not the world we live in. There’s a premium on those capabilities now.” In this episode of McKinsey Talks Talent, Smaje joins Senior Partner Brooke Weddle and Partner Bryan Hancock, along with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly, to discuss what leading through the AI moment means for the relationship between people and technology, including ways of working; costs, benefits, and risks; and the need for open dialogue about the question, “Why AI?”

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