Teneo Insights Podcast AI in 2026: From Promise to Pressure
Feb 2, 2026
Ryan Cox, Teneo’s Global Head of AI, guides firms on AI strategy and implementation. Sparky Zivin, Global Head of Teneo Research, leads AI-driven analytics and authored the CEO survey. They discuss why AI returns lag investments, early efficiency wins versus customer-facing revenue, agentic AI beyond chatbots, workforce reskilling, national AI sovereignty, energy and chip constraints, and regulatory and reputational risks.
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AI Has Become National Critical Infrastructure
- Nations now treat AI as critical national infrastructure, driving data sovereignty and domestic AI programs.
- Countries invest in data centers and sovereign AI to avoid depending on foreign developers for strategic capabilities.
Energy And Chip Efficiency Are Strategic Bottlenecks
- Energy and hardware efficiency are strategic bottlenecks for scaling AI infrastructure.
- Ryan Cox highlights work on energy-efficient chips, smaller LLMs for edge, and national energy capacity buildouts to meet demand.
U.S. And China Follow Different Yet Viable AI Paths
- U.S. and China pursue different viable AI strategies: frontier innovation versus broad ubiquity.
- Sparky argues China may lead in mass integration while the U.S. keeps a lead toward AGI and frontier research.