The Social Neuroscience of Leadership in the AI Age with Prof. Michael Platt

How do great leaders influence the brains of the people they lead?

In this episode, Prof. Michael Platt from the Wharton School and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania explores leadership through the lens of social neuroscience, anthropology and human behaviour.

Michael explains why the human brain remains optimised for a world that existed hundreds of thousands of years ago and why rapid advances in artificial intelligence are creating new challenges for leadership, attention, decision-making and organisational performance.

The conversation examines how leaders influence the emotional and cognitive states of their teams. Michael discusses why authenticity, trust and psychological connection matter, and how subtle social signals such as facial expressions, attention and emotional contagion can shape organisational culture.

The discussion also explores social synchrony, mirror neurons, neuroplasticity and cognitive overload in the age of AI. Michael considers why protecting human intelligence and becoming more deeply human may be among the most important leadership priorities of the future.

In this conversation, you’ll discover:

🔹 Why leadership involves influencing the emotional and cognitive states of others

🔹 How trust, authenticity and social connection affect teams

🔹 What social neuroscience can teach us about organisational culture

🔹 How AI may affect attention, decision-making and cognitive capacity

🔹 Why human capabilities could become more valuable as AI advances

🔹 What emerging research is exploring about GLP-1 medications, mindfulness and self-regulation

Discover how understanding the social brain could help leaders build more adaptive, resilient and human-centred organisations.

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