Executives from McKinsey and General Catalyst have stated that the era of "learning once, benefiting for a lifetime" has come to an end.

At the 2026 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), McKinsey’s Bob Sternfels and Hemant Taneja of General Catalyst discussed the rapid development of artificial intelligence and its impacts. Taneja emphasized unprecedented valuations, noting that Anthropic’s valuation has soared from $60 billion last year to “hundreds of billions of dollars,” predicting a new wave of trillion-dollar AI companies. Sternfels pointed out internal disagreements within companies, with CFOs being cautious about return on investment, while CIOs worry about industry disruption. Regarding changes in the labor market, both stressed that human judgment, creativity, and ongoing “skills enhancement and retraining” are crucial, as AI is reshaping rather than replacing certain jobs. McKinsey itself is also adjusting its workforce structure, investing more resources into client-facing roles.