Seattle Tech Week Panel - From AI Hype to Deployed Value, What's Actually Working in 2026
- Date
- Wednesday, July 29, 2026
- Time
- 10:00 AM
- Location
- Industrious 400U, Seattle, WA
📅 Seattle Tech Week Panel - From AI Hype to Deployed Value, What's Actually Working in 2026
- Date
- Wednesday, July 29, 2026
- Time
- 10:00 AM
- Location
- Industrious 400U, Seattle, WA
- Hosted By
- Fuel Talent
Most teams can point to a process AI has made faster. Far fewer have changed how their organization works around it.
During Seattle Tech Week, Fuel Talent's Derek Stephens moderated a conversation with three technology leaders about what comes after the first round of AI wins. The discussion started with the gains teams are already seeing, mostly from speeding up workflows they already understand, and moved to the harder work of changing the organization around them.
What the conversation covered
Where AI is paying off
Faster cycle times on known processes, in work with partners, on internal quality and with customers.
Changing the organization
One panelist compared it to refactoring code. Code changes can be tested and rolled back, but org changes are much harder to undo. That's where the panel sees the next wave of value.
Building flexible AI products
Products that update and self-heal across models aren't there yet, and current APIs, including MCP, don't yet handle that much change.
Working through resistance
Resistance usually means the case for change hasn't been made well enough, and treating it as stubbornness tends to fail. One example was a collections team that moved from fixed 30, 60 and 90 day call scripts to calling ahead of large invoices likely to be paid late. It took top-down support and room to work without a script, and the approach spread once results were measured.
Preparing people
With the pace of change, basics get skipped. Before automating a workflow that crosses teams, understand the handoffs and what your team is able and motivated to take on. One panelist found early-career hires responded best to David Allen's Getting Things Done.
Thank you to Jay, Tara and Sanchit, to Industrious for hosting, and to everyone who brought questions. For more from the week, read our recap of the Seattle Tech Week panel on hiring in the age of AI.
