Agentic AI and the Art of Asking Better Questions

I’ve had a lot of conversations about AI over the past couple years—some insightful, some overhyped, and a few that left me questioning whether we’re even talking about the same technology. But every now and then, I get the opportunity to sit down with someone who not only understands the technology but also sees its broader implications with clarity and honesty. This episode of the TechSpective Podcast is one of those moments. Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco, joins me for an unscripted, unfiltered conversation that covers more ground than I could have outlined in a set of pre-written questions. Actually, I did draft a set of pre-written questions. We just didn't follow or use them at all. Jeetu and I have known each other for a while, and this episode reflects the kind of conversation you only get with someone who’s deeply immersed in both the strategic and human sides of tech. It’s thoughtful. It’s philosophical. And it doesn’t pull punches. At the center of our discussion is the concept of “agentic AI”—a term that’s being used more frequently, sometimes without much clarity. We unpack what it actually means, what it can realistically do, and how it differs from the wave of chatbots and content generators that came before it. More importantly, we talk about how these AI agents might change not just the tasks we automate, but how we think about work itself. Of course, with any conversation about AI and the future of work comes the inevitable tension: what gets lost, what gets reimagined, and what still requires distinctly human judgment. Jeetu brings a nuanced take to this, rooted in his experience leading product innovation at one of the world’s largest tech companies. It’s not a conversation filled with predictions so much as it is a reframing of the questions we should be asking. What stood out to me is how quickly we normalize the extraordinary. A technology that felt magical two years ago is now embedded in our daily workflows. That speed of adoption changes the stakes. It means we need to be more deliberate—not just about what AI can do, but what we want it to do, and what we risk offloading too quickly. We also touch on the philosophical implications. If AI agents really can handle more of the cognitive heavy lifting, what’s our role in the loop? Do we become editors? Overseers? Explorers of new frontiers? And how do we prepare for jobs that don’t exist yet, using tools that are evolving faster than we can document them? I think this episode will resonate with anyone trying to navigate this moment—whether you’re in product development, policy, marketing, or just someone who likes to think a few moves ahead. It’s about more than AI. It’s about how we adapt, how we define value, and what we choose to hold onto as the landscape shifts. Give it a listen. And as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.