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- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady talks to CFOs about how AI is affecting their companies.
- The big story: Yet more tariffs, this time with a new one on semiconductor chips.
- The markets: S&P 500 futures are rising this morning.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. Everyone is talking about AI. Earlier this week, we hosted a dinner with 17 CFOs from some of the world’s largest companies, where they talked about how they’re now using AI in their jobs. Some are using it to highlight how different words are likely to impact sentiment on earnings calls, based on historical data. Many use it to create scenarios around earnings projections against the vagaries of tariffs, policy shifts, technology investments and more. They’re creating hyper-personalized data sets and go-to-market strategies that not only use AI agents but tailor interactions to customers’ AI agents. I also learned about their strategies for embedding AI knowledge throughout their organizations, from top-down learning to metrics for getting promoted into the senior ranks. And while most are not yet cutting jobs in response to AI, they’re also not adding to their overall headcount.
The dinner, sponsored by Deloitte and ServiceNow, was conducted under the Chatham House rule to encourage conversation by sharing highlights anonymously. But during my on-the-record chat with economist Rebecca Patterson, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former chief investment strategist at Bridgewater Associates, we heard about the impact of a shift in fiscal policy. “It’s not just the fact that Congress ignored the Congressional Budget Office and historical norms in enacting the reconciliation bill,” she noted. “It’s also the size of the increase to future deficits at a time when the economy has been growing above its long-term potential. I thought we would see some fiscal hawks push back more and water down the ultimate bill or that there would be a longer fight. I was wrong.”
Patterson also said she expects policies under the Trump Administration to “lean towards” structurally higher inflation. And she talked about the continued strength of the U.S. relative to other economies and the transformative impact of AI.
Insights from leaders on the front lines are critical in shaping the themes of this column and underscore the unique role that Fortune plays in convening and creating connections. Next up is Brainstorm Tech, which Andrew Nusca will lead on Sept. 8 to 10 in Park City, Utah. One Strategy Group CEO David Meadvin told me yesterday that “there’s nowhere better for genuine relationship building.” I believe him. I’ll be going there to moderate some conversations and cohost a dinner for CEO Initiative members with Qualtrics CEO Zig Serafin. If you’d like to join us at Brainstorm Tech, you can apply here.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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