CEOs hear Gen Z AI views in Fortune dinner on work and legacy

Fortune said a private dinner with CEOs and their Gen Z children offered a direct look at how young adults are thinking about AI, work and career choices. The discussion matters because many executives are making decisions about AI and talent while their own children are entering the workforce.

Diane Brady of Fortune’s CEO Daily said she co-hosted the “Generations” dinner at the Tribeca home of Cengage CEO Michael Hansen. CEOs from a range of industries attended with a Gen Z child for an informal conversation about life, leadership and the future of work, according to Fortune.

What did CEOs hear from Gen Z about AI?

Fortune reported that the younger participants did not speak with one voice. Some raised serious worries about AI, while others described it as a tool, Brady wrote.

Hansen said he was struck by what he called the younger generation’s “level-headedness and thoughtfulness” on whether AI will change the world. He told Fortune they seemed less panicked and more reflective than older participants in the room.

The dinner was held under the Chatham House rule, Fortune said, so the account did not identify individual participants or their companies beyond Hansen. Brady described the attendees as global but said they were not meant to represent an entire generation.

Fortune noted that many of the young adults at the dinner had grown up with access and exposure linked to their parents’ industries. Brady also wrote that they shared broader generational experiences shaped by AI, climate change, social media, geopolitical instability and new opportunities.

How did the discussion connect work, values and legacy?

The young adults at the dinner were pursuing varied paths, Fortune reported. Their choices included startup work, supervising workers on a construction site, continuing in a family industry and moving into a different field.

Brady said the conversation also covered legacy, values, rapid change and corrosive politics. She listed personal lessons that came up during the discussion, including respect for others, giving back, humor, grit and humility.

Hansen, who runs Cengage, joined the dinner with his two sons, according to Fortune. Fortune described Cengage as a global education technology company with $1.6 billion in annual revenue that provides content, platforms and services across K-12, higher education and workforce training.

Hansen told Fortune the presence of younger participants changed the tone of the discussion among CEOs. He said the conversation became more human and less shaped by typical management language.

What is Fortune doing with the CEO Initiative?

Brady wrote that Fortune plans to hold more conversations of this kind through the Fortune CEO Initiative. She described the co-hosted dinners as part of the editorial programming for the network.

Fortune also named new CEO Initiative members, including Steve Lucas of Boomi, Christophe Beck of Ecolab, Bryan Batista of Skyscanner, Mihir Shukla of Automation Anywhere, Rob Fauber of Moody’s, Karen Pugliese of Weber Shandwick, Mary Powell of Sunrun, Bob Segert of athenahealth, Bianca Anghelina of Aily Labs, Gaurav Lohiya of Walker Architects and Nicholas Hamilton-Archer of the Ross School of Business.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.