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Authoritarian acolytes will tell you that, to be strong, a country must demonstrate force. White House advisor Stephen Miller recently put that worldview plainly on CNN, arguing that the real worldis governed by strengthby forceby powera claim belied, as it were, by history. America did not become a superpower primarily by proving it could dominate. It became a superpower by proving it could partner. After World War II, the United States stood unrivaled militarily. Yet it did not rely on force alone to secure its position. Instead, it invested in rebuilding a shattered world. The Marshall Plan was not charityit was a strategy, linking economic recovery with political stability and turning war-torn nations into long-term allies. By helping others prosper, the U.S. increased its own security and economic future. That is soft power at work. Dwight Eisenhower, a five-star general, advanced the idea that diplomacy is not the sole province of governments, and that when people know you, they are less likely to fear you. And when they trust you, they are more likely to collaborate with you. John F. Kennedy carried that logic forward with the Peace Corps. The program sent a clear signal that American power included service, partnership, and humility. In a Cold War offering competing models to aspire to, that mattered, and it continues to matter today. THE ROLE OF SOFT POWER Soft power was never intended to be solely a government project. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States again faced a pivotal choice: declare victory and walk away or support the hard work of transition. Out of that moment emerged citizen diplomacy initiatives like what later became Pyxera Globalformed at the behest of the George H.W. Bush White House that called for a Citizens Democracy Corps to mobilize private-sector volunteer expertise to help planned-economy societies build market economies and democratic institutions. Alongside these efforts, agencies like USAID institutionalized development as a pillar of U.S. foreign policyinvesting for decades in health, education, food security, and economic growth as tools of stability and influence. That modelpublic purpose paired with private capabilityhas always been central to Americas soft power. There are certainly many situations and geographies where U.S. engagement fell woefully short. Still, taken together, these efforts point to a simple conclusion: Americas influence has been strongest when it was most usefulnot most intimidating. Soft power was never a weaknessit was leverage. That history matters now. When the U.S. government pulls back from development, diplomacy, and partnership, the vacuum does not remain empty. Other forces are surely eager to fill it with transactional relationships, debt dependence, and authoritarian influence. If Washington is narrowing its role now, the private sector faces a choice of its own. It can retreat inward, treating global instability as someone elses problem. Or it can recognize a simple truth: A stable world is a prerequisite for sustainable business. Soft power is not philanthropy. It is long-term risk management. HOW BUSINESS CAN STEP INTO THE GAP None of the following actions is a substitute for government. But they represent a sampling of ways that global business now has the opportunityand the capacityto step into the vacuum. Normalize board service as leadershipnot a side project. Encouraging executives to serve on nonprofit and civic boards strengthens institutions at a time of severe resource constraints, when we need them to function well. It also builds empathy, governance skills, and real-world decision-making capacity, qualities companies claim to value in leaders. Scale skills-based volunteering. Finance, compliance, cybersecurity, HR, and logistics are some of the skills that many public and nonprofit institutions cannot easily access. Deploying them fills a dire resource gap while meeting employee demand for purpose-driven work that uses real expertise. Double down on supply-chain resilience as a form of stability. Diversifying suppliers, investing in transparency, and ensuring local equity reduce exposure to disruption and coercion. Resilient supply chains are not just good businessthey help anchor opportunity and stability in the places where companies operate. Expand community-driven initiatives where companies operate. Corporate success cannot sustainably outpace community well-being. Health, nutrition, education pipelines, workforce training, and local economic development are not public relations gesturesthey are investments in human capital, social cohesion, and long-term operational continuity. THE POWER OF PARTNERING Taken together, and implemented at scale, these actions underscore a simple truth: strength is not only the ability to strikeit is the ability to attract, rebuild, and partner. And if Washington continues to pull back from soft power, global business can advance something new, durable, and worth trusting. Deirdre White is the CEO of Pyxera Global.
Category:
E-Commerce
The Ford Mustang Mach-E cruises down a London road choked with traffic, using its onboard AI system to avoid jaywalkers and cyclists, and navigate roadwork as it drives to its destination.The autonomous vehicle from British startup Wayve Technologies is on a test run ahead of the U.K. government’s robotaxi trials set to launch in the spring. Tech companies including U.S. company Waymo and China’s Baidu also plan to take part in the pilot program, making London the latest arena in the global robotaxi competition.While self-driving cabs aren’t new, London’s ancient road layout and busy streetscapes could pose special challenges for the technology.There’s also skepticism from London’s famed black cab drivers, who must pass a grueling training course known as “The Knowledge,” which requires memorizing hundreds of routes and takes years to complete. They’ve previously opposed technology that’s disrupted their industry, and protested the arrival of Uber.Self-driving taxis are “a solution looking for a problem,” said Steven McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, which represents black cabbies.He doubts that robotaxis would have any advantage on London’s road network, which is laid out in a convoluted spiderweb that dates back to Roman times unlike the grid layout in American cities like San Francisco and Phoenix where Waymo operates.The British capital is notorious for being one of the world’s most congested cities and its streets are already clogged with other modes of transport, including private cars, buses, motor scooters, bicycles and electric rental bikes.McNamara and many others have noted that robotaxis face another challenge from pedestrians crossing the streets. While jaywalking is illegal in the United States and many other countries, it’s not an offense in Britain.“It’s virtually impossible to drive anywhere (in London) without somebody walking in front of you,” McNamara said. In London, with a population of nearly 10 million, he wondered “how these cars are going to deal with those volumes of people?”The robotaxi companies say there’s room for the new technology.“I think Londoners are going to love autonomous driving. It’s going to be another choice alongside the Tube, cycling, walking, “said Wayve CEO Alex Kendall in a recent interview at the company’s workshop.Wayve is teaming up with Uber for the taxi trials, which are part of Britain’s move to adopt national regulations for self-driving vehicles. The nation is seeking to position itself as a world leader in the technology.Chinese tech company Baidu is also teaming up with Uber, as well as its ride-hailing rival Lyft, to operate its Apollo Go autonomous vehicle service in the London pilot.Waymo, owned by Google parent Alphabet, will also take part and plans to launch a London passenger service by the third quarter of 2026, company representatives told reporters last month.Waymo officials sought to ease concerns that the company would suddenly flood London streets with robotaxis, noting that it has operated 1,000 total vehicles in San Francisco since going into full service in 2024.“We’re not here to replace anyone,” Waymo spokesman Ethan Teicher said. “We’re here to add another option for people who will choose to take black cabs or other modes of transportation when it suits them and choose to take Waymo, when it makes sense.”Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar I-Pace sedans have been spotted doing test runs around London. Wayve’s Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles have also been doing road tests with human backup drivers sitting behind the wheel, ready to intervene if needed.On a recent demo ride for The Associated Press, Wayve’s Ford steered automatically through a three-mile (five kilometer) loop in North London without any problems.Cruising down a straight and open stretch of road, the car maintained a steady pace of 19 miles (30 kilometers) per hour, a tick under the speed limit.A traffic light changed as the car approached, forcing it to brake firmly and lightly jolting the passengers forward the only moment that the driving was less than smooth.Kendall said Wayve takes a different approach from traditional self-driving technology. It doesn’t rely on “high definition” maps and “hand-coded” safety systems rules written by programmers anticipating every scenario.Instead, it uses an AI trained on millions of hours of data gathered by its cars to learn and understand how the world works.“This is the key thing for self-driving, because every time you drive on the road, you’re going to experience something different,” Kendall said. “You can’t rely on a self-driving car being told how to behave in every scenario it encounters.”He said Wayve is positioning itself as a technology company providing hardware and software that can be added to any vehicle to make it autonomous. It signed a deal with Nissan in December to build self-driving cars that will go on sale in Japan and North America by 2027.Kendall wouldn’t reveal any more specific details about the robotaxi service it will operate in collaboration with Uber, such as pricing.Waymo, which has its own app to hail rides, will have “competitive” prices and fares will be in line with the market, officials said last month, while adding that it is often able to “demand more premium pricing.”Experts say there’s a role for robotaxis in Britain, but it might be a niche one.They’re best poised to fill gaps in Britain’s public transport network, such as serving villages that have lost bus services connecting them to bigger towns and cities because of budget cuts, said Kevin Vincent, director of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Automotive Research at Coventry University.There will still be demand for human drivers, especially from out-of-town visitors and tourists, he said.If you find a “cab driver who knows the area, you can ask him questions. You feel confident and comfortable you’re going where you need to go,” which is a service that won’t be easily replaced in the short term, Vincent said.Self-driving taxis can’t replicate the human touch, said Frank O’Beirne, who has been driving black cabs for 14 years.For example, one of his recent fares was a pair of blind passengers going to touristy Leicester Square. He ended up parking at a cab rank and walking them across the street to their destination, a Chinese restaurant that turned out to be in the basement of a casino.“They would never have found that, ever, (on their own),” said O’Beirne. “There’s nothing like us. I can’t see the space where autonomous taxis can operate, really.” Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
For the last several years, enterprises have treated AI as something to test. A pilot here, a proof of concept there. That era is ending. According to new global DeepL research, a survey of 5,000 global executives on the impact of AI agents reshaping business, 69% expect AI agents to fundamentally change how their companies operate in 2026. Nearly half anticipate major transformation, while another quarter say that change is already underway. This moment didnt arrive overnight. While 2025 was the year agentic AI moved from theory to application, enterprises are making the shift structural this year. Leaders are no longer asking whether AI works but rather deciding where AI agents belong inside their operating model. As tools mature and agentic systems become capable of coordinating work across functions, AI agents are unlocking new opportunitiesnot just automating tasks. By eliminating manual coordination, AI agents enable organizations to move faster and smarter, enabling the creativity, problem-solving depth, and judgment that turn velocity into measurable value. Yet, when it comes to scaling agents and validating their investment, most organizations remain stuck in pilot mode. McKinsey reports that while 62% of companies are experimenting with agents, only 10% are scaling them across a single function, and just 32% of leaders report an impact on EBIT at the enterprise level. The gap between early adopters and those who hold out will widen in 2026not because of trial and error, but execution. Three shifts will define this gaphow enterprises automate core operations, deploy AI for growth, and build the communication infrastructure agents require. AUTOMATE THE CORE AI agents are no longer confined to experimentation or pilots. Enterprises are deploying them into operational workflows like processing returns in customer service, investigating customer complaints, automating approvals and ticketing, supporting prospect and competitor research in sales and marketing, and optimizing working capital in finance. Whats changing is continuity. Instead of accelerating individual tasks, organizations are increasingly making agents responsible for managing handoffs between themreducing friction. Looking at AI agent adoption more broadly, DeepLs research shows global executives cite proven ROI and efficiency (22%), workforce adaptability (18%), and enterprise readiness (18%) as the primary reasons they feel confident expanding agent deployment. Results, not optimism, are driving this shift. At the same time, known barriers are beginning to soften. Cost (16%), workforce preparedness (13%), and technology maturity (12%) remain challenges, but enterprises are actively addressing them as they gain experience operating agents in production environments. The real risk now is inaction. Organizations that fail to identify which workflows should be automated first keep valuable talent focused on low-leverage workwhile competitors redesign operations around intelligent systems. Customer service offers a clear example. Companies like Perk are deploying AI agents to take on routine operational work in customer support, while human agents focus on complex, relationship-driven scenarios. As Tom Davis, senior director of operational excellence at Perk, notes: When weve got travelers stuck in airports, we want our humans focused on those momentsand in the background, a machine of AI handling the grunt work. That division allows human agents to focus on high-stakes relationship work while AI agents manage operational tasks at scale. AI AS A GROWTH ENGINE AI is no longer confined to cost reduction. Its becoming a driver of growth. The broader AI landscape shows strong momentum: 67% of executives reported measurable impact from AI initiatives in 2025, and 52% expect AI to contribute more to company growth than any other technology in 2026. Enterprises seeing the strongest returns are applying AI across revenue-generating functionscustomer service, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT supportrather than limiting it to back-office automation. The competitive advantage comes from scale and integration, not just isolated use cases. But the real gain isnt just efficiencyits faster, higher-quality decision making. As b2ventures noted in their work with AI agents, the technology helps them make higher-quality investment decisions faster because agents excel at evaluating companies and surfacing insights that inform critical choices. According to DeepLs research, leaders in the UK (80%), Germany (78%), and the U.S. (71%) are seeing measurable performance gains from AI initiatives. This underscores that execution and organizational readiness are just as important as access to technology when it comes to turning AI into a strategic advantage. Ignoring AI in growth-critical areas is no longer conservative. Its a strategic risk, particularly in sectors where margins and customer expectations are shifting fast. LANGUAGE AND VOICE AI As AI agents move deeper into enterprise workflows, theyre changing how people interact with software itself. Instead of clicking through dashboards or submitting forms, employees increasingly instruct systems through natural language. In an agent-driven operating model, language becomes the primary user interface. This is the mechanism through which work gets done. That shift raises the stakes for fluency and accuracy. When language is the interface, a mistranslated prompt or misunderstood instruction doesnt just slow down communication; it can derail an entire workflow. For enterprises scaling agents across teams and regions, language precision becomes a requirement, not a nice-to-have. This is reflected in enterprise priorities where 64% of companies plan to increase investment in language AI in 2026, while organizations expect adoption of real-time voice translation to rise to 54%. These investments arent standalone initiatives. They are foundational to making AI agents reliable, scalable, and effective. EXECUTION, NOT EXPERIMENTATION This year, the organizations experiencing the biggest impacts will stop experimenting with AI and start embedding AI agents into core operations and applying them across growth-critical functions. By turning AI into a strategic advantage, these companies will streamline operations, make better decisions, and unlock measurable business value. Those who delay will watch the gap grow as early adopters accelerate ahead. Jarek Kutylowski is the CEO and founder of DeepL.
Category:
E-Commerce
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