Consulting in the age of AI: RISk, Wisdom and Human WorK
Every major shift in how work gets done arrives first as a disturbance.
It unsettles habits. It challenges expertise. It raises uncomfortable questions about relevance, value, and identity. Today, generative artificial intelligence sits squarely in that tradition. For many in professional consulting, it has arrived as both a marvel and a menace: powerful, fast, and expansive in its reach, yet capable of provoking real fear and, in some cases, paralysis.
That response is understandable. When a tool can summarize research in seconds, draft proposals in minutes, and analyze data at scale, it is natural to wonder what remains uniquely human in our work. It is tempting to retreat, to resist, or to pretend that this moment will pass.
But fear is not a strategy. And paralysis is not leadership. The Stillwater team met recently to reflect on this rapid change, consider its implications for the work we do as a firm and frame up an intentional, proactive approach to the services we’re so proud to offer. We believe the better path forward is thoughtful, curious, and values-driven engagement. We choose to embrace emerging tools - not as replacements for professional judgment, but as instruments that can help us serve our clients more effectively, more efficiently, and more sustainably.
Used well, tools like ChatGPT and Gamma can dramatically improve how consultants work. They allow us to conduct broader and faster research, explore multiple framing options, stress-test ideas, and generate early drafts of key communications tools that accelerate momentum. What once required days can now be accomplished in hours.
That efficiency creates choices.
We can lower costs for clients, leading to increased value for their investments in outside counsel. We can redirect time toward deeper listening, relationship-building and bespoke coaching . We can focus more energy in strategic thinking, facilitation, and leadership development - the aspects of our work that create lasting organizational capacity. In other words, we can spend less time on mechanical tasks and more time on meaning-making and trust-building.
AI does not diminish the value of consulting. It clarifies it. It creates new opportunities to serve in different and powerful ways.
Our greatest value has never been information alone. It lies in interpretation, judgment, empathy, context, and trust. Some might call this wisdom. It lives in the ability to sit with leaders in moments of uncertainty, help them see patterns they could not see alone, and support them in making courageous, values-aligned decisions. No algorithm can replace that work.
At the same time, we believe consultants have a responsibility to become fluent in these emerging tools. Not merely as private users, but as educators and guides. Developing shared expertise around generative AI allows us to help our clients use these technologies thoughtfully within their own organizations - strengthening communications, improving research and internal systems, and expanding capacity without sacrificing integrity.
This is part of our commitment to capacity-building: not doing the work for our clients but equipping them to do it well themselves.
With that opportunity comes ethical obligation.
Responsible use of AI must be modeled, not merely discussed. We are committed to transparency when tools are used in our work. We ensure that every AI-supported output is shaped, reviewed, and refined by human judgment. We prioritize quality, consistency, and alignment with our values over speed or novelty. Technology bolsters our thinking; it never substitutes for it.
We also recognize that growing AI utilization carries real environmental costs, particularly in energy consumption and resource use. As part of our response, we are committed to making targeted financial contributions to conservation-focused nonprofit partners, helping offset the ecological footprint of this evolving digital infrastructure. Stewardship must extend beyond our immediate work to the systems that make it possible.
Ultimately, generative AI invites a deeper question: not what it can do, but who we choose to be.
We can be reactive, anxious, and defensive. Or we can be curious, principled, and adaptive. We can guard our relevance through resistance, or we can earn it anew through wisdom.
At Stillwater, we choose the latter.
We believe that when powerful tools are guided by strong values, deep experience, and genuine human connection, they do not weaken professional practice. They elevate it.