Good morning. AI has created an opportunity to rethink the way that companies are structured, according to Microsoft President Brad Smith.

One of the most important potential changes is the return of the generalist, according to Smith. “For 40 years, most professions have become increasingly specialized and narrow. It’s required such deep expertise that people are narrower because they have to constantly stay abreast of such deep knowledge. AI is helping actually free that,” Smith said yesterday in conversation at Journal House UNGA with WSJ Leadership Institute President Alan Murray. (You can see the full discussion here.)

“I’m starting to see a bit of the resurgence of the generalist, the person who can go solve specific problems with the help of AI…can take more initiative, apply judgment, be creative, have more of an impact,” he said. As AI takes on more autonomy, it’s easier to organize people—smaller teams—that can accomplish more, according to Smith.

As a result, Microsoft is rotating people through more areas of the company faster, he said. “To be a better generalist, you’re better off being exposed to more types of issues in ways of working.”

“I just think one can use this as an opportunity, not just to invest…in people’s skills, but rejuvenate a culture and actually empower people within clear lanes to go do things better,” he said.

Last week, Microsoft released a playbook detailing how it is navigating the AI upheaval. During a series of interviews at Microsoft, I delved deeper into some of those lessons, including how the company is rethinking traditional organizational structures and roles and how it is using AI to design end-to-end workflows for a complex enterprise with about 223,000 people.

These changes were notably evident in the software engineering organizations, although they are taking root in other areas including sales, finance and human resources. You can read the full column here.

Highlights of that reporting:

How is AI recasting the way your company works? Let us know. Send your feedback to me at steven.rosenbush@wsj.com (if you’re reading this in your inbox, you can just hit reply).

Marsh CEO John Doyle on navigating global risk, cyber threats and AI. Marsh President and CEO John Doyle explains how businesses can treat resilience as a competitive advantage rather than a defensive strategy. Doyle explains the importance of scenario planning to navigate continuous disruption stemming from geopolitical volatility and complex supply chain dependencies.

Chevron CFO on Balancing Profits and Sustainability. Amid shifting regulations and evolving energy markets, Chevron Chief Financial Officer Eimear Bonner sits down with WSJ Leadership Institute President Alan Murray during United Nations General Assembly week in NYC to discuss capital allocation and how the energy giant is creating value in a rapidly changing economy.

David Zapolsky on Amazon’s Scale, Infrastructure and AI Future. Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer discusses the company’s AI infrastructure strategy, sustainability commitments and regulatory standards

• U.S. bonds suffered one of their worst days in over a year, with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to 5.11%, a level last seen in 2007. Barron’s reports that the spike threatens higher borrowing costs across the economy.

• A trade group representing major tech companies is urging the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed $103,265 fee on most new H-1B visa applications, arguing it would cut U.S. firms off from global talent and hurt the U.S. in the AI race with China. The pushback marks a rare break between Silicon Valley and the White House, and it follows a federal judge striking down the administration’s earlier $100,000 H-1B fee in June.

• In what may be the first publicly disclosed case of an AI agent breaching a government service, an OpenAI agent gained unauthorized access to public and nonpublic files on an Australian government healthcare-statistics portal in June while trying to look up answers during an evaluation, WSJ reports. Officials believe no personal information was accessed.

• At Meta’s annual developer’s conference Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg positioned the company’s AI and hardware bets, announcing plans to build its new AI agent Muse into Meta’s smartglasses and unveiling a keychain device called Muse Charm due out by the holidays.

The WSJ Tech Council brings together CIOs, CTOs and CISOs advancing innovation and shaping the future. Join this trusted community where tech executives connect with peers to explore emerging trends and gain the perspective they need to stay ahead of disruption.

Request Information

Follow Isabelle Bousquette on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and TikTok for more behind the scenes on her tech and AI coverage, and lately, her contributions to the WSJ Leadership Institute’s new Executive Resilience series, where she’s profiling America’s top execs about their fitness and wellness habits.

Follow Belle Lin on LinkedIn and X for her latest reporting on enterprise technology and AI.

Steven Rosenbush is chief of the enterprise technology bureau at the WSJ Leadership Institute. He also has a column. You can follow him on LinkedIn.

Tom Loftus is the editor of The Morning Download. He suggests following Isabelle, Belle and Steve on their various social channels. But if you insist, here’s his LinkedIn.