• Becoming a Futurist: Signals, Scenarios, and Horizons
  Mandy explains that futurism isn’t about predicting the future, but about tracking signals, identifying drivers of change, and mapping potential scenarios: “It’s not just what’s most likely to happen, it’s helping people see what’s possible so we can chase after the right things.”

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• AI as the Supercharger of Emerging Tech
  Technologies like IoT, blockchain, edge, and quantum have been around for years, but Mandy highlights that AI is what makes them useful: “All of a sudden these technologies are coming together because AI is empowering them in ways they couldn’t deliver on their own.”

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• Trusting Bots Over Bosses?
  Citing recent surveys, Mandy unpacks why employees sometimes prefer AI feedback to human feedback: “The AI isn’t scared—it’s consistent, predictable, and not having a bad day. That’s more than you can say for some bosses.” Still, she cautions that leaders must pair AI with intentional communication and empathy.

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• The Hidden Value of Entry-Level Jobs
  AI threatens to eliminate junior roles, but Mandy argues this undercuts leadership growth and innovation: “It’s an honor to mentor early-career folks… More we replace humans with machines, the more we lose the imagination that drives progress.”

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• Iron Man vs. Terminator: Augmentation Over Elimination
  For Mandy, AI is best seen as an Iron Man suit enhancing human potential, not a Terminator replacing jobs: “We don’t want to take the humanity out of what we’re doing creatively—because then why are we doing it at all?”

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• Leadership in the AI Era: Vulnerability, Empathy, and Character
  Despite AI’s ability to simulate charisma or empathy, Mandy insists leaders must ground themselves in human traits: “Only character and integrity speak over the long term. That’s what establishes real trust.”

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• Reimagining Social Media’s Future
  Her capstone project explores how female-driven, creator-positive platforms could reshape digital culture: “Social media doesn’t have to be a net negative—we can design it from the ground up to empower communities.”