Simon Blanchette

Human leadership remains essential as AI agents reshape work

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:41:21 +0000

As companies experiment with agentic AI, some are using technology not just to support employees, but to stand in for managers. While AI agents may streamline workflows, organizations risk weakening the human connections that build loyalty and trust, according to Simon Blanchette, a faculty lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ Desautels Faculty of Management.

Why AI time savings aren’t translating into productivity gains

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:35:54 +0000

As the Bank of Canada highlights AI’s promise to boost productivity, Simon Blanchette, a faculty lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says Canada risks overestimating the impact of time savings alone.

Even as workplace efficiencies improve, he argues the real challenge lies in turning those gains into higher-value outcomes. “Today is the day that AI will be the least powerful in our lifetime,” he says, warning that organizations need to move faster.

China’s AI labour ruling invites reflection on Canada’s approach

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Wed, 13 May 2026 14:03:40 +0000

As a Chinese court moves to curb AI‑driven demotions and dismissals, Simon Blanchette, a lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says the ruling highlights how unprepared Canada is for AI‑led labour disruption.

He argues that implementing similar protections would be difficult in Canada’s decentralized labour system, where provinces, industries and unions would all need to align. Rather than trying to slow adoption, Blanchette says the focus should be on readiness.

Having humans in the loop helps ensure AI produces high quality work

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:41:22 +0000

A majority of young people fear that AI will displace them in the workplace, and entry-level jobs in AI-affected sectors are already in decline.

While there are a lot of things AI can do, there still needs to be a human in the loop, Simon Blanchette told Radio-Canada.

“Humans need to be there at the beginning and the end of a process to verify a machine’s work,” says Blanchette (BCom’14), Faculty Lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ Desautels. “It’s not a brake on productivity, but a guarantee of quality.”

AI Pushes Deloitte to Redefine Roles and Rethink Career Paths

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:41:35 +0000

As Deloitte rewrites job titles for more than 180,000 U.S. employees, Simon Blanchette, a lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ’s Desautels Faculty of Management, says the shift reflects broader pressures facing Canadian employers as AI transforms workplace responsibilities.

Canadian employers risk 'doing layoffs with extra steps' without AI workforce planning

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:37:20 +0000

Simon Blanchette, Faculty Lecturer, says Canadian organizations implementing AI without strategic workforce planning are doing layoffs with extra steps, because they're losing expertise, and they're not really planning for what's going to come after.

Replacing entry-level work can decimate a company’s talent pipeline

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 20:33:53 +0000

In an office environment, AI can perform many of the tasks that have traditionally been done by interns and junior employees. While that might seem like an efficiency gain, companies could lose out in the long run. The introduction of AI creates an inverse-pyramid within companies, according to Simon Blanchette, a management lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ Desautels.

Guardrails can help ensure safe, fair and transparent AI

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:26:48 +0000

The genie is out of the bottle. AI is here, and isn’t going away. But that doesn’t mean we can’t build guardrails to prevent it going off the tracks, writes Simon Blanchette in The Conversation.

“Guardrails are the systems, norms and checks hat ensure artificial intelligence is used safely, fairly and transparently,” says Blanchette, a lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ Desautels. “They allow innovation to flourish while preventing chaos and harm.”

Structure of Canadian economy could provide some insulation against AI job losses

john.sawaya@mcgill.ca — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 20:24:51 +0000

The conversation around AI and automation has taken a sharper turn. A US Senate report released by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in Fall 2025 cautioned that over the coming decade, AI and automation could destroy 100 million jobs in the United States.

But will Canada experience something similar? Maybe not, according to Simon Blanchette, a lecturer at 91˿��Ƶ Desautels. “As an economy, Canada and the US are structured very differently,” Blanchette told HR Reporter.