Robbert van Empel: ‘The time to start talking about AI is now’

Managementboek Magazine has included a two-page Q&A with AI thinker, author and The Future founder Robbert van Empel in its August 2026 print issue. The interview, conducted by Jeroen Ansink with photography by Mirjam van der Linden, carries a direct message: the time to start talking seriously about AI is now. An online version first appeared on June 12; the supplied PDF shows the magazine layout.

Van Empel frames AI as part of a broader technological shift rather than as a stand-alone tool. He identifies four developments that reinforce one another: faster artificial intelligence, cheaper clean energy, the growing number of sensors around us and advances in biotechnology. In his view, their interaction could accelerate change in work, organisations and society beyond what most people currently expect.

The interview focuses heavily on control. Van Empel argues that many people still associate AI mainly with simple content tasks, while more consequential applications are developing quickly. He points to possible effects on jobs, privacy, cyber conflict and autonomous systems. These are his warnings and forecasts in the interview, not independently established outcomes. That distinction matters because several examples describe future scenarios rather than events that have already happened.

The practical advice is more immediate. Van Empel recommends putting personal privacy in order, thinking carefully before uploading a face to free AI applications and spending one hour each week experimenting with small, useful tasks. That could include drafting emails or directing a virtual assistant. His aim is not experimentation for its own sake, but helping people understand both the capabilities and the limitations of current systems.

He also calls for a broader public conversation. His suggestion is to share concerns with ten influential people in your network so that questions about regulation, responsibility and social choices eventually reach policymakers. For companies, this means treating AI adoption as more than a software purchase. Teams need practice, boundaries and human review. For policymakers, it means involving citizens before technical choices become difficult to reverse.

The interview ends on a deliberately human note. Van Empel expects personal interaction, trust and explanation to remain important even when machines can analyse information faster. The most useful takeaway is therefore balanced: learn what AI can do, protect what matters and discuss collectively which future we actually want.