If artificial intelligence eliminates the first career ladder, how will future leaders be trained? Can anyone become an entrepreneur by using a few AI tools? Or does the real competition start now?
Advisor to the Board of Directors of Boğaziçi Ventures, Faculty Member of Istanbul Bilgi University and Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Technology. We talked with Çağla Gül Şenkardeş about the balances that artificial intelligence has changed in business life and the world of entrepreneurship.
We discussed why investments are rapidly turning to artificial intelligence, the new career path awaiting young people, the window of opportunity opened for women entrepreneurs, and the decisions that humans should not delegate to technology.
Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technology we use; It transforms the way we work, the economy, education and human relations all at the same time. What do you think will be the biggest social consequence of this transformation that we have not yet sufficiently noticed?
I think when we talk about artificial intelligence today, we still think largely in terms of productivity. We describe artificial intelligence as “it writes faster than us, develops code faster, and analyzes better.” However, history shows us that major technological transformations have never only produced efficiency, but also changed the way society thinks and lives. Industrial Revolutions transformed muscle power. The Internet has transformed access to information. I think artificial intelligence also transforms decision-making processes. Here’s the most important change that I think we don’t talk about enough.
Throughout history, humanity has collected information, analyzed it and finally made decisions. Now, for the first time, the analysis part of this chain is being largely handed over to machines. If we look to the future with this approach, I think in the very near future, people may turn into actors who choose between the suggestions of artificial intelligence tools rather than accessing information.
This not only affects working life; It will also affect democracy, law, education, family relations and even individual identity formation. Because what makes a person human is not only having knowledge, but also being able to reason, choose between values, and take responsibility for the choice he makes.
I think one of the most critical problems of the coming period will be people’s awareness of preserving their decision-making skills.
For this reason, I think that education systems should no longer be institutions that memorize information, but should turn into institutions that develop reasoning, ethical evaluation, critical thinking and problem definition skills. Because in the future, the most valuable person will not be the one who has the most knowledge, but the one who can ask the right questions and maintain a critical perspective with determination without surrendering to knowledge.
According to the OECD’s 2026 report, 61 percent of the world’s venture capital investments in 2025 went to artificial intelligence companies. This rate was 30 percent in 2022. When you look at it from an investor’s perspective, are we experiencing a real technological revolution or is an investment bubble forming in artificial intelligence?
My short answer would be: They are both happening at the same time. We are truly in a major technological revolution on a historical scale. At the same time, there is a serious investment enthusiasm around this revolution.
These are not mutually exclusive concepts. A similar situation occurred during the dot.com era, when the Internet became widespread. The dot.com bubble burst, but the internet continued to become widespread. And I think even those who went through the transformation in many companies on the list of the world’s largest companies today.
I think we will experience a similar process in artificial intelligence. We have even started to live. Today, investors are not just investing in companies, they are investing in the infrastructure of the future.
Because artificial intelligence is no longer a standalone sector or investment vertical like it was 2-3 years ago. It’s in finance, healthcare, agriculture, education, and even impact initiatives. In other words, it is turning into a horizontal technology like the internet and electricity. Therefore, it is not surprising that the investment volume is increasing. However, it is necessary to make an important distinction here. Companies that actually develop artificial intelligence infrastructures in the market today and startups that try to get investment by simply adding “AI” to their presentations should not be put in the same basket. This distinction will become much clearer in the next few years. Investors are already asking “does this problem really require artificial intelligence?” He has already started asking questions and questioning. Today, I think the most valuable startups, regardless of the technology they are based on, are those that solve problems, and it will remain so in the future.
According to PwC’s 2026 Global AI and Jobs Barometer, senior skills such as leadership and strategic decision-making are seven times more likely to be sought after in starting positions most impacted by AI. How will young people learn to gain experience without doing startup jobs? Is artificial intelligence eliminating the first career ladder?
Since I am an academician, I am very close to young people, young business people of the future and today. And this question you are asking is truly one of the most important working life questions of the next decade.
Because until now, what we call career was a gradual structure. One would start with simple, routine tasks, learn to analyze, and then manage the team. Finally, a step would come where strategic decisions would be made. But today, artificial intelligence automates a significant part of these first steps. This naturally raises the question: Leaders will grow, but how will they grow?
I think this is where universities and companies need to redesign learning models together. It will no longer be enough to just give young people information at school and internship duties in institutions. It will be necessary to give them real problems. Because artificial intelligence can write reports, prepare presentations, and write code, but I think it is still learning from humans to make decisions under uncertainty.
So, in my opinion, entry-level roles in the business world will not disappear completely, but their content will change. Therefore, learning agility, not years of experience, will be the most important career indicator.
Artificial intelligence no longer just answers our questions; They turn into agents who can research, shop and make decisions on our behalf. Which decisions can humans leave to AI, and which should they not delegate to technology under any circumstances?
Everyone will decide this for themselves. From my perspective, as an engineer doing social research, I think of this in three layers. There is optimization in the first layer. Finding the most suitable flight ticket, calculating taxes, analyzing data, etc. etc.. Here artificial intelligence can be much more successful than humans. In the second layer there is preference management. Which book should I read? Which investment fund should I examine? Which universities should I compare? In this regard, artificial intelligence can be a powerful advisor, but the last word should still remain with the human. The third layer is the layer where value-based decisions are made. Such as who you will marry, the details of your child’s education, selecting a candidate for employment, making ethical decisions that will affect a patient’s life. I think technology should not be left alone here. Artificial intelligence calculates probabilities, but it may not produce meaning like a human, it may not perceive the context like a human, it may not be able to empathize, develop a conscience, or even assume responsibility. As a society, I think our biggest risk is not that AI will make mistakes, but that humans will stop using their decision-making muscles.
Can anyone become an entrepreneur with artificial intelligence? As an investor, what do you first look for in a startup today?
Artificial intelligence has democratized startup creation like never before. I agree with this. But I think the most important or biggest step in becoming an entrepreneur is not the part where we will use the skills of artificial intelligence. It is true; In the past, large teams were required to establish a software company, but today even companies founded by a single person can reach millions of users. This is a very important opportunity. But this does not mean that everyone will be a successful entrepreneur. Because as technology becomes cheaper, competition shifts from technology to people.
Now investors are investing not in software, but in the problem-solving capacity of the founder.
When I look at a startup, my first question is never technology.
My first question is:
“Why this problem?” Then the team? Then the resistance capacity of the founder or founders… Because the idea may change, the product may change, even the market may change. But a successful team that can learn and does not give up on learning and working will survive by being agile and pivoting if necessary. Entrepreneurship can sometimes be the art of managing failure rather than success stories. Today, artificial intelligence can write code, but it has not yet learned not to give up.
Artificial intelligence reduces technical barriers to starting a startup. Can this development create a new opportunity for women entrepreneurs, or will inequalities in the investment world continue even as technology changes?
This question is at the heart of the issues I have been working on for many years.
Yes, artificial intelligence creates important opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Because it reduces the need for capital. It reduces the necessity of establishing a technical team. It reduces prototype development costs.
All this is very important. However, it would be too optimistic to think that technology alone will produce equality.
Because investment decisions are made by people, not algorithms. And people can have conscious or unconscious biases.
Today, in many countries of the world, the venture capital received by female founders still constitutes a very small part of the total investment. So the problem is not just access to technology.
Access to capital, mentoring networks, role models!!
Real transformation will only be possible by resolving these issues.
I think that artificial intelligence opens a great window of opportunity for women entrepreneurship. But for this window to truly turn into an opportunity, the investment ecosystem must also become inclusive. Technology can create opportunities, but justice and equality can only be designed consciously.
Which technology will change human life most radically in the next three years? What are the developments that will determine the future, although we exaggerate their importance and do not talk enough about them today?
I think the biggest technology of the next three years will not be a new artificial intelligence model, maybe gens and robot technologies will increase the importance of artificial intelligence. Let’s call it systems that act on our behalf.
But I think there are other issues that are not talked about enough.
The first is trust technologies. When artificial intelligence surrounds us, the most valuable thing will be trust.
Authentication of identity, digital reputation, data ownership, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence governance will be the most critical areas in the coming years.
The second is energy.
Today everyone is talking about artificial intelligence models.
But we talk much less about the data centers, energy needs and sustainable infrastructure that will run those models.
Artificial intelligence is a field of competition in electricity, semiconductors, communications infrastructure and geopolitics.
Finally, I would like to say this. For many years, humanity has thought of technology as systems that could replace humans. However, I want to believe that the future will be built on technologies that increase human capacity, not on technologies that replace humans.
This interview shows us that AI can lower the cost of starting a startup, speed things up, and create more options than ever before. However, those who will make a difference in the future are not those who use the most advanced tools; There will be those who see the right problem, ask the right question, and retain their own judgment.
Technology magnifies the opportunity. People still determine for whom that opportunity will turn into success and for whom it will turn into equality.
In this corner where we talk about artificial intelligence and technology, I will continue to bring you together with people who have inspiring ideas and important work for the future. This column grows even more as you read and share your opinions with me. Thank you for your messages and emails.
See you in the next interview.
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