Overview of Boss Class Season 3 (Trailer)
The trailer for Season 3 of The Economist’s Boss Class, hosted by Andrew Palmer, previews a season focused on practical, managerial uses of artificial intelligence. Palmer experiments with AI tools himself, visits companies already using them, and probes when and how managers and employees should adopt AI — balancing enthusiasm with skepticism and caution. The season will be available to Economist subscribers via Economist Podcasts Plus.
What the season explores
- Hands-on experimentation: Palmer tries a wide range of AI tools himself — including building simple automations, coding with AI assistance, and interacting with conversational agents — to separate hype from usefulness.
- Real-world use cases: Episodes will showcase companies applying AI to customer service (e.g., automated pizza-order interactions) and to building new businesses (AI agents as co-founders).
- Managerial guidance: The show will focus on where AI is genuinely helpful to managers and frontline employees today, and what leaders should change in workflows and hiring.
- Emotional and practical reactions: The season documents the emotional rollercoaster of adopting AI — delight, fear, annoyance — and tests the technologies’ reliability and limits.
Key takeaways and themes
- Experiment but be critical: Try tools yourself to learn strengths and weaknesses, rather than accepting hype.
- Augmentation over blind replacement: AI can boost productivity, but treating it as a straight replacement for newcomers or staff is risky and often wrong.
- Test outputs: AI is useful but can be incorrect a significant share of the time; vet and validate results rather than “hitting the easy button.”
- Learn from pioneers: Companies already using AI for customer interactions or as business-builders offer practical lessons for adoption and governance.
Notable quotes and insights
- “I want to cut out the hype to find out where AI is most useful to managers and employees right now.”
- “I basically looked at these AI agents and I said, these are my co-founders.”
- “I genuinely think... the people who are going to be the most successful in the coming years are the people who can resist just hitting the easy button.”
- “If you think it replaces your newcomers, you're not just wrong, you're out of your mind.”
Format and tone
- Host-driven investigative journalism: Andrew Palmer both experiments personally and interviews practitioners.
- Mix of hands-on demo, field reporting, and managerial analysis.
- Tone is curious, pragmatic, and occasionally skeptical — documenting both successes and failures.
Who should listen
- Managers and team leaders evaluating AI tools for their organizations.
- Employees curious how AI might change workflows or job roles.
- Entrepreneurs and product builders exploring AI-driven business models.
- Anyone seeking a practical, non-hyped take on current AI applications in the workplace.
How to listen
- Boss Class Season 3 will be behind The Economist’s subscriber feed. Search “Economist Podcasts Plus” for subscription options and the best offer to access the season.