Generative AI: The CIO’s Apollo moment 

The odds of Apollo 11 landing on the moon were shockingly low. Rockets exploded in training, three astronauts were killed in a fire, and Neil Armstrong barely survived a near — fatal test flight. Computer technology was primitive, riddled with glitches, and the mission required 145,000 lines of meticulously handwritten code. Yet, despite these flaws, NASA achieved one of humanity’s greatest triumphs in 1969 — a moon landing that redefined our collective sense of potential and possibility. 

Generative AI is like Apollo 11 for CIOs. It’s the first technology launched at scale with known flaws, from hallucinations and bias to ethical and security challenges. But like the space race, it holds the power to advance science and technology, redefine industries, transform a generation, and unlock human potential — if today’s leaders meet the challenge. 

This moment demands a new kind of CIO. Gone are the days of the IT gatekeeper-in-chief. The organizations that rise to the occasion will be led by an innovative class of CIOs who embrace bold thinking, stay ahead of the market, and build a visionary future. A traditional CIO keeps the lights on. The new CIO lights the way forward with eight critical leadership shifts that will define the success of the AI era. 

1. Adapt as fast as AI is being adopted 

It took 40 years for most Americans to adopt electricity at home, 20 years for half the population to adopt smartphones, and 10 months for half the global workforce to adopt GenAI. The fastest adoption rate in history means the consumer is changing rapidly, becoming more informed, empowered, and discerning. With the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, we now expect instant answers, seamless interactions, and personalized solutions. 

For CIOs, this shift means rapidly rethinking how products, services, and systems meet these heightened expectations — for consumers inside their companies and in the market. Those who fail to adapt will fall behind in a marketplace where AI is resetting the rules of engagement and efficiency. 

2. Open up your talent model  

In the next five years, an estimated 40% of the skills needed in the workplace will change. The traditional workforce model will need to evolve to keep up. CIOs should consider an open talent model — a hybrid strategy incorporating the enterprise version of gig work into the traditional employee base. This approach allows organizations to access skills they don’t have, pull in talent from across the globe, inject diverse perspectives, and accelerate innovation. 

And the future workforce isn’t exclusively human. Digital employees — AI agents, robots, and co-pilots — are increasingly integral to delivering value. CIOs must design workflows, systems, and cultures that seamlessly integrate “silicon” plus “carbon” team members into a hybrid workforce that empowers every employee to work at their highest and best impact. 

3. Rethink the way teams work 

The legacy project operating model is irreparably broken. Project teams get married and start planning the divorce on day one. Teams often reach peak performance just as the project ends and they split up — throwing away their hard-won collective intelligence. Our quintessential human ability to connect our brain power and work together towards a common goal is the only thing that makes us smarter than machines. We need to lean into this evolutionary advantage. 

Replace transitory project teams with permanent, multidisciplinary product teams. Deeply connected teams with diverse skill sets brought together from all different parts of the organization. Teams that understand the value they’re trying to create, collaborate effectively, and challenge each other to create better solutions.   

4. Prepare for the democratization of technology  

The workforce is undergoing a seismic shift. Millennials and Gen Z are now the dominant generations, bringing new expectations for purpose, collaboration, and digital fluency. At the same time, low-code/no-code platforms, citizen developers, and ubiquitous AI tools are decentralizing engineering and tech expertise.   

This democratization threatens control, but it’s also a multiplier of creativity, speed, and innovation. CIOs need to rethink operating models to balance democracy with governance. The goal is to enable innovation while maintaining alignment with organizational goals. The key is to build guardrails — ensuring security and scalability — while empowering employees to explore and create. This balance will unlock creativity and drive competitive advantage. 

5. Find the challenge/equilibrium sweet spot 

In a 1908 study, researchers discovered that mice shocked while trying to navigate a maze, performed best with the right balance of challenge. Too little leads to disengagement, while too much causes stress and mistakes. This principle, the Yerkes-Dodson Law, still applies in today’s workplace. 

For CIOs, the goal is to create an environment where teams are stretched just enough to stay engaged, innovative, and productive. Push too hard, and you risk burnout; play it too safe and stifle growth. The ideal balance of challenge and equilibrium inspires teams to innovate and supports them to succeed. This is where true breakthroughs happen, and lasting value is created. 

6. Focus on faster learning cycles 

The real cycle time that matters is not faster product delivery; it’s faster learning — how quickly your organization can adapt, experiment, and respond to new challenges. Technologies will come and go, but a workforce that’s curious, adaptable, and skilled in perpetual learning will stay ahead of the curve. 

The CIO is now a culture catalyst, architecting a digital infrastructure and building a learning organization that fuels continuous growth. Today, it’s AI. In 10 years, it will be something else. An organization with quick learning loops and innovation cycles, built on a culture of curiosity and discovery, will be able to adapt to the changing digital infrastructure of the day. 

7. Play the long game and create ‘option value’ 

Short-term thinking — like focusing solely on three-year ROI — creates technical debt and kills innovation. CIOs who didn’t move to the cloud are struggling to keep up with AI. Once you’re stuck in technical debt, catching up on investments not made is incredibly difficult.  

The real value of technology investments lies in their “option value” — the pathways they open for future innovation. Building scalable systems and adaptable talent strategies ensures readiness for the next wave of transformation. If you’re not investing for both the short and long term, you’re designing for obsolescence. 

8. Prepare today for AI at scale 

GenAI is the worst it’s ever going to be right now. Think of what that means for the opportunities ahead. It’s a tectonic shift in value creation. This is definitely a place to play the long game. Invest today in the data ecosystems, ethical frameworks, and scalable architectures that will unlock AI’s exponential value over the next decade.   

What matters most is preparing your workforce, thinking through the change management process, reshaping business workflows, and acquiring new skills. This change process should be underway now so your team members will be ready to run with the full potential of the technology at scale — safely and ethically. AI raises profound ethical questions that extend beyond any single organization, and CIOs also have a responsibility for building guardrails, advocating for standards, and promoting responsible AI development and deployment. 

These eight fundamental shifts will help seize the immense opportunities ahead. AI is our modern moonshot. Like Apollo 11, it challenges us to lead boldly through uncertainty to reach something extraordinary. 

The moon landing succeeded with imperfect technology because of the vision, innovation, and resilience of the people behind it. That same leadership is essential now. AI has the potential to transform industries, advance science and medicine, and solve some of the world’s most wicked problems. But this will only happen if CIOs are willing to take a giant leap. 

Paul Hlivko is EVP, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, responsible for the strategic direction of technology transformation, digital technology and innovation. Several technology teams report to Paul, including enterprise architecture, application delivery, application operations, software product management, enterprise data management and user experience design. Before Wellmark, Paul served in technology and program management leadership roles with PNC Financial Services and First Niagara Bank.