Technology has become the biggest enabler of transformative opportunity in history. According to one of the USA’s most recognized techpreneurs — Rick Inatome, Managing Director of Collegio Partners, and Chairman of the Board at Léman Manhattan ― “We are living in a paradoxical time and the reason for that today is AI.” The World Economic Forum predicts three hundred million (300M) jobs will not exist in five years. Tech leaders say there has never been a more exciting time in technology, and there will never be more millionaires and billionaires created. They are betting on when the first one-person billion-dollar AI unicorn will emerge. These paradoxical statements lead to a critical question. How should people prepare to ensure they are in the right place at this historic moment?
Navigating the Era of the Moravec Paradox
However, when reminded that many concerns exist about AI replacing human roles, Inatome references the Moravec paradox. What Moravec proved it is relatively easy to use computers to perform tasks that may be hard for humans, but tasks that are difficult for computers come readily to humans. AI thus can outperform other candidates on a medical licensing exam, but it failed a basic logic test when researchers added emotional context with the statement that ‘a cat will die if you get it wrong.’ This highlights the nuanced importance of human leadership of AI that negates its potential for sabotaging and compromising human decision-making and activities. “This phenomenon may help explain why current education is preparing our children for failure and why educators face a dilemma. AI is superior in many areas that involve memorization and fact recall, which remain important, yet it is deficient in the essence of what makes us human.” The most important thing for educators to understand is the supreme importance of the human nuance. Thinking about AI as a genius app is why 80 percent of users invest in it, while only five percent gain a measurable return. Many people use it as if it were Google on steroids. What is needed instead is upskilling in leadership and uniquely human capacities.
History shows that unprecedented disruption always produces winners and losers. When automation came to agriculture, many small farms disappeared. When manufacturing shifted, communities in the Rust Belt were devastated. “We cannot deny that change brings loss.” In education, however, the defining human roles of empathy, inspiration, and mentorship are not replaceable. AI may automate tasks, but it cannot replicate trust or wisdom. That is why, Inatome says, our work is to help educators shift energy away from what machines can do more efficiently toward what only humans can do. “We acknowledge the fear, but stress that refusing to adapt only guarantees obsolescence.” Those who embrace AI thoughtfully can expand, rather than diminish, their impact on students.
Making American Education Student-Centered
In Inatome’s experience, there are specific reasons behind the fact that institutional change is so difficult in education compared to other sectors. “The fundamental technology of education has not changed since I attended school, with one teacher behind a desk.” Economics has not changed either, as seen in the classic one teacher to thirty student ratio and the one-size-fits-all model. What has changed is the explosion of factors like autism, ADHD, dopamine reward structures rewired by tech, depression, and dyslexia. In a short period of time, we have allowed technology and its associated algorithms – via smart phones, social media addiction, and gaming – to steal the key elements of human development. Brains get rewired for distraction rather than focus, and experts see patterns similar to early-stage cognitive decline. And researchers have identified a 17-point decline, in less than a decade, in personality traits predictive of career success and other key life indicators.
Teachers must confront and navigate these realities every day. American education has dropped from being a global leader to the bottom of the top forty developed countries. These challenges preceded AI. Yet many people fear technology as the enemy rather than seeing it as part of the solution. When high percentages of classrooms include widespread neuroticism, teachers face exponentially greater challenges. This is setting up students and ultimately society for failure.
Education has always been mission-driven, but it is also tradition-bound. Faculty governance, accreditation processes, and regulatory oversight create inertia. Unlike business, where competition forces adaptation, schools historically have insulated themselves. That insulation is no longer protection. Demographic shifts, financial pressures, and technological disruption now converge to demand change. The challenge is not a lack of intelligence or dedication, as most educators are deeply committed to students. The obstacle is cultural. There is reluctance to alter systems that have defined professional identity for generations. That is why Collegio Partners emphasizes process discipline and cultural readiness. Schools cannot just add AI as an accessory. They must evolve decision-making and adaptation at the community level.
The Crucial Role of Collegio Partners
This adaptation is central to the role of Collegio Partners, which has emerged as a forward-thinking educational advisory firm. What differentiates its approach in a space crowded with conventional consultancies is its focus on people, capital, and process, and not products. Inatome emphasizes that organizational change happens in two stages: transition and transformation. Transition can entrail reengineering, redefining, and restructuring of core functions. Once the work of transition is complete, “We turn attention to transformation. Today, with AI redefining industry and the world changing at increasing velocity, we must rethink mission and strategy while still centering on people, capital, and process,” he insists.
Why “Leadership is Service”?
In this regard, Inatome led a remarkable journey across tech, entrepreneurship, and education, with his perspective on leadership evolving through these diverse domains. Leadership has always been less about titles and more about responsibility, he claims. In the tech world, the focus was on speed and innovation, moving quickly to bring new possibilities into being. He shares that entrepreneurship taught him resilience and humility because most ventures encounter failure before they find traction. Education reinforced something deeper. Leadership is service. It is about aligning vision with the human element, ensuring people feel seen and empowered. “Across each domain, my understanding of leadership evolved from managing outcomes to cultivating people.” Technology will keep changing, but leadership succeeds when it expands capacity in others rather than amplifying ego.
How Does Tech Transform Learning?
Further sharing a moment when he saw the transformative impact of technology on learning, Inatome recalls, “A year before Chat-GPT was released, I was at a wedding and a friend asked if I was familiar with AI. He was supposed to speak at the reception but had no idea what to say. He pulled out his phone and, within a minute, had a speech more touching than otherwise imaginable.”
Another moment stands out from years ago. Inatome watched a student with dyslexia use an early text-to-speech tool. For the first time, she could access readings without waiting for help. Her confidence grew immediately. Her posture changed, and her voice grew stronger in class. That small intervention unlocked her agency. Multiply that by millions of students, and you glimpse the power of technology. AI takes this a step further by enabling adaptive tutoring, real-time feedback, and personalized support. The impact is not abstract. It is a student realizing, “I can do this.” Those moments show why technology matters in education.
Personal Transformation―Key to Organizational Change
Inatome often speaks of personal transformation as the starting point for organizational change. Elaborating on this thought, he says personal transformation, not teaching two hundred prompts, is what gets to the human quotient. Organizations do not transform through technology alone. People do. Leaders often look for grand strategies or structural overhauls, but if individuals remain fixed in old habits, change will not take root. Personal transformation begins with curiosity and humility, “Acknowledging that what got us here may not take us forward.” When leaders cultivate adaptability, empathy, and willingness to learn, they create the conditions for professional transformation. That cascades into organizational transformation. The sequence is personal, professional, and institutional. It sounds simple, but it is the overlooked foundation of enduring change. “Without personal transformation, institutional strategies remain paper exercises.”
His Leadership Anchor
Looking back, Inatome feels values like service, stewardship, and learning anchored his journey. Explaining it further, he adds that service is the conviction that leadership is about others. Stewardship is the responsibility to leave institutions healthier than you found them. Learning is the humility to recognize that no matter your age or role, there is always more to grasp. These values have carried him across domains from tech to entrepreneurship to education because they are portable. Circumstances change, technologies evolve, markets shift. With service, stewardship, and learning at the core, you can navigate change without losing your center.
Humanizing AI Leadership with Human Qualities
Before closing, in his advice to young professionals stepping into leadership during this era of transformation, Inatome says, “Start with yourself. Transformation is not first about strategy or technology. It is about habits of mind. Cultivate resilience, empathy, and adaptability. Learn to listen deeply. Do not fear disruption. Fear complacency. Surround yourself with people who challenge your assumptions and expand your perspective. Remember that leadership is not about being the smartest in the room. It is about unlocking the intelligence and creativity of others. The next era will not be defined by those who know the most about technology, but by those who know how to humanize it.”
An Age of ‘HumAIntelligence’
Finally, Inatome maintains that legacy is not something he dwells upon. “The measure of this work will not be in my name but in the students who flourish because a teacher saw something in them that they did not see in themselves.” That is the power of AI technology if harnessed toward these ends. If Collegio Partners helps schools build cultures where this ‘favorite teacher’ effect is multiplied, where countless students discover possibilities they never imagined, then that is legacy enough. The goal is simple. Make AI more human, especially in education, even in an age of machines.