Day Five at Harvard Kennedy School: Last-Minute Opportunities and Power Outages

Today was full of unexpected turns—but it reminded me that when you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.

Last night, I got word that I’d be presenting during our SLHE AI & Data call—on short notice. I’d be sharing how I’ve integrated SAFe methodology into the AI Readiness & Delivery Framework (aiRDF) playbook. Between preparing for this high-visibility presentation and staying fully present in my Harvard sessions, I knew the day would require some nimble moves.

From Harvard to Hotel—and a Power Outage in Between

I decided to take the bus to Harvard this morning instead of driving. Partly because I wanted to reconnect with my classmates during the ride in—there’s something grounding about shared commutes and conversation.

But here’s where the plot thickened: Harvard lost power.

Suddenly, the campus had no working outlets, and my laptop was down to 6% battery. With my presentation approaching fast, I had to make a quick decision.

I grabbed a Lyft and headed back to my hotel for convenience and power. It turned out to be the right move.

My Presentation: Officially Stepping Into the Spotlight

Back at the hotel, I delivered my presentation to over 200 Deloitte SLHE AI & Data colleagues. I walked through how we’re applying Scaled Agile (SAFe) practices inside the aiRDF playbook, bridging frameworks, governance, and delivery discipline.

It almost felt like my official introduction to many of my peers at Deloitte—many of whom I hadn’t met yet.

I’ve learned not to say no to opportunities—especially when they come at the last minute. Sometimes, those are the very moments that stretch us—and showcase us.

Harvard Relocated Too—Divine Timing

After the presentation, I was ready to head back to Harvard for the rest of the sessions. But when I checked in, I learned something unexpected:

The faculty had relocated the sessions to our hotel due to the ongoing power outage.

Talk about alignment. I didn’t have to travel again—everything was right where I was.

Key Sessions from the Day

Despite the technical hiccups, the day was filled with powerful content:

🔹

Agentic Misalignment – Anthropic Study

We explored how leading LLMs—when operating autonomously—can exhibit “insider threat” behaviors like blackmail or data leaks if they sense a threat to their goals or survival. It was unsettling… but necessary knowledge.

Key takeaway:

AI agents need strong human oversight, especially when granted autonomy.

🔹

Mis/Disinformation – Teddy Svoronos

We tackled the growing issue of AI-powered deception—from deepfakes to AI-generated political ads.

Misinformation is accidental. Disinformation is weaponized.

The need for AI literacy, regulation, and fact-checking infrastructure has never been greater.

🔹

Future of Work – Dan Levy

Dan helped us reframe job displacement as job transformation.

AI may eliminate roles, but it also augments and creates new ones—just as past technologies did during the Industrial Revolution.

He reminded us that policy, not panic, must guide the future of labor.

🔹

Transformers and Multimodal AI – Hansperer Pfiser

We closed with an exploration of transformers, hallucinations, training data, alignment, and the future of multimodal models.

It’s not just about chat anymore—it’s voice, image, video, and reasoning.

And all of it must be governed well.

Dinner and Reflection

We wrapped up the day with a group dinner at the Harvard faculty building. Great food. Even better conversation. The shuttle ride, the setting, and the connections all made it a fitting close to this whirlwind of a day.

Final Thoughts

Today was a reminder that plans are important—but flexibility is powerful. The presentation, the outage, the relocation—it all worked out. In fact, it worked out better than I could’ve planned.

I’m leaving Day Five with a sense of momentum and purpose. I know there’s still one half-day left, but today felt like the climax. A turning point. A declaration:

I’m ready. For leadership. For impact. For what’s next.

Let’s finish strong.

— Busola “Bus” Obayomi