Wake-up call: Why Al isn't just another tech trend—it's the next industrial revolution

AFTER more than three decades in corporate leadership, often at the helm of transformational change across multinationals and local conglomerates, I’ve witnessed firsthand how businesses adapt, evolve, and at times resist the forces of external disruption. From economic shifts to digital revolutions, I’ve seen what reshapes markets and what merely passes through.

- By Murali Prakash

But nothing I've encountered compares to the scale and potential of what Artificial Intelligence now offers. Having begun my career as a programmer, the rise of AI rekindled a deep professional curiosity. This wasn’t just another innovation wave—it felt profoundly different. The more I observed, the more I realised: AI isn’t a technological upgrade. It’s a foundational shift that could redefine how we think, operate, compete, and lead in business.

That realisation prompted me to go deeper. I undertook specialised learning on data, AI and its influence through the University of Pennsylvania and followed it with an intensive program on AI and Management through Harvard Online. These experiences not only helped me understand the landscape of AI but also how its integration into core business processes is no longer optional—it is essential.

This article series is my attempt to share that journey. Not as a technologist, but as a corporate leader shaped by experience and driven by what lies ahead. It is about placing AI in the context of business reality—its opportunities, risks, and the urgent need for leadership to engage now, not later.

More than a trend: The structural transformation driven by AI

We are living through one of the most pivotal transitions in business history. Not due to another economic cycle, a shift in consumer behaviour, or a supply chain realignment, but because of technology. Specifically, the rise of general-purpose technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), and at its leading edge, Generative AI (GenAI).

For many business leaders, this moment is the wake-up call, particularly for those already connected to global markets or aspiring to be. Others may have a bit more runway depending on their industry or geography but make no mistake: it's coming. It may arrive sooner or later, but it is unmistakably on the horizon.