Secondly, I came away with one half of me thinking we are all screwed and I really need to go retrain as a plumber.
Another half of me is thinking we have an amazing opportunity to pivot and be the essential link between organisations and the new technologies as they come on stream.
The third half of me (math fail) thinks the answer lies somewhere in the middle, past predictions of amazing leaps forward or spectacular disaster(Hadron Collider creates black hole and Earth is swallowed ) based on new technology has seldom eventuated.
Always good when you come away with more questions than answers.
And here is a fuller AI-generated summary of the full panel discussion!
AI Impact on Business Analysts Panel Discussion
Attendees
Vaughan (Moderator)
Louisa
James
Elsamari
Grant
Key Points
Current impact of AI on Business Analysts
Mid-term (2-3 years) outlook for BAs in the AI landscape
Long-term (10 years) future of the BA role
Skills BAs should focus on to stay relevant
Ethical considerations and regulatory challenges
Cultural and organisational change requirements
Discussion Items
Current Impact of AI on Business Analysts
The panel discussed how AI is already transforming the BA role in several ways:
BAs are spending significant personal time researching and testing AI tools to stay current with rapidly evolving technology.
There’s growing pressure for BAs to deliver faster results using AI tools, with those who are “slow and expensive” potentially facing replacement.
The “first draft is free” phenomenon means BAs now add value in the second pass, reviewing and refining AI-generated content rather than creating initial drafts.
Junior BA roles are disappearing as entry-level tasks become automated, creating challenges for mentoring and skill development.
While AI tools can quickly generate outputs, they often miss nuanced insights that experienced BAs can detect—the “spider senses” that identify what isn’t explicitly stated.
AI is extending technical capabilities, allowing BAs to complete tasks that previously required specialised technical resources.
Louisa noted that when using AI tools to accelerate work, BAs may miss valuable insights that come from deeper engagement with the material. She shared an example of hand-transcribing customer research, where the process itself revealed insights that might be missed with automated transcription.
Mid-term Outlook (2-3 Years)
The panel had varying perspectives on the mid-term outlook:
Elsamari cautioned against the “do this now or sink” narrative, noting that business transformation historically takes time and that we’re currently in a “depressive cycle” of disruption.
Grant emphasised that risk management will be crucial, with BAs needing to develop frameworks to move from “safe to fail” projects to “fail-safe” projects.
James predicted that within 2-3 years, 15-20% of decisions could be made autonomously by AI systems, with humans remaining in the loop for higher-risk decisions.
Louisa highlighted geopolitical factors that could influence AI adoption, including potential regulation changes and varying approaches between Europe and the US.
The panel agreed that few organisations have fully embedded AI tools, indicating that adoption is slower than the hype suggests.
There was consensus that the BA role would increasingly focus on ethics, governance, and strategic thinking rather than tactical execution.
Long-term Future (10 Years)
Looking further ahead, the panel offered diverse perspectives on how the BA role might evolve:
Elsamari suggested that if autonomous agents become capable of handling end-to-end workflows, BAs would need to focus on systems thinking, ethical oversight, and change management.
James predicted a shift from “human in the loop” to “human over the loop,” with BAs ensuring transparent delivery and making critical decisions about when to intervene.
Louisa envisioned a “micro company economy” where small teams run multi-million dollar businesses, requiring BAs to have broader business design skills and cultural knowledge.
Grant emphasised that BAs’ ability to think holistically and abstractly about systems would remain valuable, especially as AI becomes more sophisticated at pattern recognition.
Vaughan suggested the BA role as currently defined might not exist, with professionals taking on multiple hats across traditional BA, testing, project management, and change management functions.
The panel discussed the potential impact of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) as a wildcard that could dramatically reshape all roles, though opinions varied on timeline and impact.
Skills BAs Should Focus On
Each panellist offered concise recommendations for skills BAs should develop:
Grant: Language skills—the ability to interpret complex, nuanced ideas into explicit language that people can understand and support.
Louisa: Science communication and cultural understanding—recognising how different people are affected by AI models and knowing who to consult.
James: AI literacy, automation-aware process mapping, and ethical frameworks for explaining AI outputs transparently.
Elsamari: Creativity and evidence-based design thinking—the ability to make decisions, run experiments quickly, and develop new products and markets.
Vaughan: Self-leadership and initiative—moving beyond being order-takers to driving projects forward independently.
Additional skills mentioned included critical thinking, out-of-box thinking, and the ability to read between the lines (the “spidey senses”).
Next Steps
BAs should take initiative to expand their roles rather than waiting for formal changes, stepping into project management, change management, and testing functions as appropriate.
Organisations need to develop frameworks for ethical AI use and establish clear guidelines for when and how AI tools should be deployed.
The industry needs to address the gap in entry-level positions by creating new pathways for junior professionals to develop skills.
BAs should advocate for what they want automated versus what leadership is pushing to automate, helping bridge the divide between board-level AI enthusiasm and employee hesitation.
Educational institutions need to incorporate critical thinking and AI literacy into curricula at all levels.
Challenges
Regulation and governance: New Zealand’s AI strategy was criticised as inadequate, with panellists noting the lack of meaningful regulation and ethical frameworks.
Trust and hallucinations: AI systems continue to struggle with hallucinations, reinforcing the need for human oversight.
Cultural change: Organisations are struggling to adapt to new ways of working with AI, creating friction between leadership pushing for adoption and employees questioning the value.
Entry-level pathways: As junior roles disappear, the industry faces challenges in developing the next generation of BAs.
Ethical considerations: The panel highlighted concerns about bias, diversity (noting the government’s AI advisory panel has only one woman), and the need for cultural context, particularly regarding Māori perspectives.
Additional Notes
The panel noted that while technology is advancing rapidly, organisational adoption lags significantly, creating opportunities for BAs who can bridge this gap.
There was discussion about the tension between company values and profit motives, with AI potentially forcing organisations to either live their stated values or acknowledge they were merely for show.
The importance of domain expertise was emphasised as roles begin to blend and boundaries between traditional functions become less defined.
Panellists discussed the concept of “AI co-workers” and the emerging skill of managing AI agents effectively.
The discussion highlighted that while AI tools are evolving quickly, the human elements of the BA role—empathy, intuition, and relationship building—remain difficult to automate.
Totally - a real mixture of thoughts for me. I’m torn between what can feel like a massive mountain and, wow, this could be really cool. Which is totally a familiar feeling, I’d like to think for other BAs too. Being on the edge of knowledge and not knowing anything. I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses and being part of the journey.
) based on new technology has seldom eventuated.