As AI continues to reshape industries at breakneck speed, Cisco’s (CSCO) president and chief product officer Jeetu Patel says the biggest threat to workers isn’t automation, it’s falling behind.
“You don’t need to worry about AI taking your job,” Patel said on Yahoo Finance’s Morning Brief: Market Sunrise. “Worry about someone using AI to do your job better.”
Patel argues AI is accelerating and the winners will be those who embrace the tools quickly and skillfully. “There are going to be two types of companies,” Patel added. “Those that are very skilled with the use of AI and those that struggle for relevance.”
Cisco, traditionally recognized for its networking software, is now evolving into a core AI infrastructure provider. The company is developing tools and security systems to facilitate enterprise adoption of AI.
According to Cisco’s internal research, 97% of CEOs say they’re optimistic about AI, but just 1.7% feel prepared to implement it. That gap comes down to three core hurdles: inadequate infrastructure, security concerns, and a shortage of skilled workers.
Patel says the company sees massive potential, but real bottlenecks. “There’s such a huge demand for people that actually are dextrous with the use of AI to be hired,” he added.
Some infrastructure challenges are tied to the ways AI is changing software engineering. Applications used to behave in a consistent manner. But large language models, the engine behind AI chatbots, can act out in unpredictable ways.
“Models are non-deterministic,” Patel explained. “That means they can hallucinate.” Cisco is offering solutions with built-in security, behavioral monitoring, input validation, and usage guardrails, with the goal of making AI secure enough for scalable adoption.
“If people can’t trust AI, they won’t use it,” Patel said. To stay ahead of the AI curve, Cisco has expanded its partnerships, working with companies like OpenAI (OPAI.PVT), Anthropic (ANTH.PVT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Patel said Cisco’s stock, up over 49% in the last year, reflects growing confidence in its AI strategy. “There’s going to be trillions of dollars spent on AI infrastructure,” he said. “The data centers of yesterday won’t cut it.” The winner of the AI race will secure economic and national security dominance, he added.
Francisco Velasquez is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. He can be reached on LinkedIn and X.
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