By Kitty Wheeler
Publication Date: 2026-01-09 12:46:00
Rob Valk, principal and engineering chief technology officer (CTO) at Deloitte Australia, says the biggest challenges in enterprise AI are not technical, but adoption, security, compliance and privacy.
Rob observes research from METR that shows Frontier models can handle tasks that require more than two and a half hours of human labor – but are only successful 50% of the time.
This ability doubles every seven months, creating a constant tension between the possible and the practical.
Software engineering is severely disrupted. Agentic engineering tools offer amazing productivity gains, but reiterate the importance of strong management skills.
Scaling agent AI systems requires more than just technology – it requires compliance, reliability and explainability.
Rob’s message: AI needs careful implementation, strong governance and a focus on human outcomes.
