Practical AI – "Cognitive Synthesis and Neural Athletes"

Date: February 18, 2026
Host: Daniel Whitenack (Prediction Guard CEO) & Chris Benson (Principal AI Research Engineer, Lockheed Martin)
Guest: Deb Golden (Chief Innovation Officer, Deloitte)

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, Daniel and Chris are joined by Deb Golden, Deloitte’s Chief Innovation Officer, to explore how artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering organizations, leadership, and individual work habits. The conversation centers on real-world adoption of AI, the shift from deterministic to probabilistic systems, the necessity of unlearning old paradigms, and the rising importance of empathy and vulnerability in an AI-driven age.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Deloitte’s Role in AI & Deb’s Unique Leadership Philosophy

• Deb’s Overview of Deloitte and AI (02:08):

  • Deloitte is deeply involved in shaping the global AI era, offering end-to-end services from advisory to foundational rebuilds and product commercialization.
  • AI investments are long-term, touching internal operations and client-facing solutions across every industry.

• Deb's Approach to Innovation (05:26):

  • Deb’s background in high-stakes risk and large-scale transformation is complemented by a personal drive to “unlearn” logic that was previously successful, remaining curious and adaptive.
  • She credits her inquisitive nature and personal life challenges as shaping her approach to innovation, emphasizing empathy, judgment, and understanding diverse perspectives.

  "I spend a lot of time understanding everyone else's business to discern how to best try and help solve for the problems... the logic that helped me yesterday isn't going to be the logic that necessarily helps me today." — Deb Golden [05:36]

Emotions, Crisis, and AI Adoption in Organizations

• Impact of Emotion & Hype (09:55):

  • AI’s transformative effect is not just technical; it’s emotional for leadership, technologists, and entire organizations.
  • Deb stresses the difference between adopting AI vs. previous tech waves (cloud, cyber) due to the shift from deterministic (if-then) to probabilistic systems.

  "In an AI-driven world, we don't actually have that. We have a very probabilistic system that's actually learning as it goes." — Deb Golden [11:46]

• The Need for Organizational Unlearning (11:31):

  • Real adoption is hindered when old playbooks guide new AI initiatives.
  • Speed in AI adoption is a flawed metric if organizations don’t understand their starting baseline and are trying to build new capabilities atop outdated processes.

  "If you're building an AI system on top of a deterministic if-then statement, it's already going to be bound to fail." — Deb Golden [12:02]

Empathy, Vulnerability, and Human Dynamics in AI Change

• On Empathy and Vulnerability in Leadership (18:37):

  • The episode delves into the importance of empathic leadership, especially as people feel more disconnected despite technological “connectedness.”
  • Deb reframes vulnerability from a perceived liability to an indispensable asset.

  "The logic even of yesterday would tell us that vulnerability is a liability. And I would actually argue that point completely...vulnerability could be your greatest asset." — Deb Golden [19:55]

  • Empathy is essential for surfacing organizational paradoxes and enabling innovation. Without it, goals, roles, and metrics can suppress meaningful change.
  • Being “different” is a superpower when it comes to seeing and solving problems in new ways.

  “If you really, truly listen to the struggles...you start to uncover the system paradoxes that are actually slowing you down.” — Deb Golden [22:15]

Cognitive Load & Becoming Neural Athletes

• Cognitive Shift in AI Work (24:14, 26:21):

  • Daniel reflects on increased cognitive switching as AI agents handle more tasks, and Deb introduces the concept of becoming "neural athletes" — individuals adapting rapidly to shifting context and mental demands.

  "Now we're constantly adjudicating between what the model says, what you know to be true, what the organization needs, what you think might be false. It's a lot, right? ...It's a constant interrogation of the truth." — Deb Golden [28:50]

  • She notes new forms of cognitive exhaustion, describing how the pace and nature of work have shifted from checking boxes to high-velocity cognitive synthesis.

  "We aren't designed to live in that state forever. We're not designed to be in perpetual high-velocity synthesis. ...In order to be the highest effective elite and neural athlete that you can, you really have to think about...how do you manage cognitive energy." — Deb Golden [30:29]

Real-World AI for Everyone: Intuition & Everyday Use

• Accessibility and Intuition in AI (33:56):

  • Deb highlights practical ways all individuals—even outside technical fields—can start building intuition with AI (e.g., using AI for meal planning or home design based on daily needs).
  • Everyday use, trial, and error teach users about AI’s nuances, benefits, and limitations (e.g., prompt misspellings affecting output).

  “I will video or take photos of my pantry and my refrigerator... make a recipe that works with my blood type, that works with certain nuances that affect me and my own health... there's really no downside. So what if I mess it up?” — Deb Golden [35:18]

Evolving Systems Thinking: From Single Model to Distributed AI

• From Simple Prompts to Agentic Ecosystems (38:48, 40:52):

  • Deb observes the shift from one-off model interactions to complex agentic systems requiring orchestration between multiple AI tools and agents, creating resilience and checks/balances through distributed intelligence.

  “If your AI strategy is based on single interactions, candidly you're probably not building for the future. It's just a faster encyclopedia. ...I talk a lot more about anti-fragility... which is learning from the failure truly to adjust your way of thinking to become stronger.” — Deb Golden [42:30]

  • She recommends embracing anti-fragility: not just accepting failure, but expecting and leveraging it as a force to drive progress.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cognitive Synthesis & Rapid Adaptation:

  "Hard work is cognitive synthesis. ...You get exhausted even just after an hour of prompting because you've done a day's worth of executive judgment in 60 minutes." — Deb Golden [28:45]

• On the Importance of Empathy:

  “Empathy... actually becomes a high level diagnostic tool, right? If you really, truly listen to the struggles and aren’t just being nice, you start to uncover the system paradoxes that are actually slowing you down.” — Deb Golden [22:15]

• On Embracing Anti-Fragility:

  “Antifragility is allowing yourself to not just fail and learn... [but] to truly adjust your way of thinking to become stronger.” — Deb Golden [41:40]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Deloitte's AI Engagement Overview: [02:08–04:30]
• Deb's Leadership Journey & Philosophy: [05:26–09:55]
• Emotions, Crisis Management, and AI Hype: [09:55–15:32]
• Empathy & Vulnerability in Leadership: [18:37–24:14]
• Cognitive Load & Neural Athletes Discussion: [24:14–31:37]
• Practical Everyday Use of AI: [33:56–38:48]
• Distributed Systems/Agentic AI Evolution: [40:52–45:18]
• Analogy: Service Dog Training & Future of AI: [46:16–51:19]

Closing Thoughts: The Road Ahead

• Service Dog Analogy and Future Outlook (46:16):

  • Deb’s experience training service dogs for veterans and first responders becomes a metaphor for leadership, trust-building, and designing systems for edge-case scenarios.

  “It’s not about designing for ourselves, it’s about designing for others. ...Some of the greatest technology that we’ve ever built... is because they were solving for something that didn’t exist for a different set of purposes.” — Deb Golden [48:40]

• Emotional Toll & Hard Work of Judgment:

  • As automation relieves us of “busy work,” what remains is hard, often emotional, judgment work—requiring vulnerability, empathy, and resilience to tackle complex future challenges.

Summary Takeaways

• Adopting AI isn’t just about new tech, it’s about fundamentally unlearning old deterministic mindsets to embrace ambiguity, rapid iteration, and human-centered thinking.
• Leaders—and everyone in organizations—should value empathy and vulnerability as vital resources for meaningful innovation and navigating AI’s emotional impacts.
• Cognitive synthesis, context switching, and “neural athleticism” are the new work realities, demanding intentional management of mental energy and antifragility.
• Practical, low-risk daily use of AI helps build intuition, trust, and a comfort with the evolving technology landscape.
• The future belongs to those willing to fail, learn, and systematically design for “edge case” real-world scenarios, not just theoretical ones.

For more: Visit PracticalAI.FM or connect with the hosts and guest on LinkedIn, X, or BlueSky.