The Rise of Performance Intelligence

In an article for Dialogue, UNU Rector Tshilidzi Marwala and CEO of Duke Corporate Education Dr. Sharmla Chetty outline the concept of performance intelligence in a new era in which organizational performance now hinges not just on people, but on how human intelligence, artificial intelligence and autonomous agents interact under effective leadership.

"The industrial age taught organizations to optimize labor, machinery and processes. Human capital became the dominant lens through which talent was understood and managed. Recruitment, training and performance measurement were designed to maximize the productivity of employees. Yet the assumptions underlying this framework are increasingly inadequate. In many organizations, critical decisions are informed by AI systems, routine activities are automated, and autonomous agents execute tasks with limited human intervention. The workforce is no longer exclusively human."

"This shift has profound implications for organizations. If machines can augment cognition, identify patterns at scale and process information consistently, then performance can no longer be understood solely through the capabilities of individuals. Instead, performance emerges from an integrated system of intelligence. This leads to a new formulation for Performance Intelligence."

"The shift from human capital to performance intelligence does not diminish the value of people. On the contrary, it highlights uniquely human capabilities. Creativity, empathy, ethical reasoning and the ability to navigate ambiguity remain indispensable. The future belongs neither to humans nor to machines alone. It belongs to systems that combine the strengths of both."Read the full article on the Dialogue website.

Suggested citation: Tshilidzi Marwala, Sharmla Chetty. "The Rise of Performance Intelligence," United Nations University, UNU Centre, 2026-08-31, https://unu.edu/article/rise-performance-intelligence.