In a recent conversation with Par Chadha, a seasoned entrepreneur and investor, he offered a piercing, pragmatic perspective on the role of artificial intelligence in reshaping the American workforce and global competitiveness.
Chadha makes one thing clear: the AI revolution is here, and while it promises tremendous opportunity, it also carries unprecedented responsibility.
“There’s a big debate going on,” Chadha begins, seated in his office surrounded by signs of relentless activity, “about the impact of AI—agentic AI specifically—and job displacement in the American workforce. In my opinion, it’s the middle layer of jobs that are at risk.”
That middle layer, Chadha explains, encompasses the $50,000 to $150,000 a year jobs—”the kind that exist across all sectors,” he notes. The senior-most professionals will be empowered to do more with less, and automation will eliminate the need for many intermediary roles.
A New American Century
Chadha isn’t a pessimist. He’s a strategist.
“If we get it right,” he says, “it could be the start of a new American Century. Productivity is the key. Without productivity, we cannot compete with populous nations that have vastly different cost structures.”
Chadha sees AI as a transformative lever to bolster American productivity without relying on antiquated levers like tariffs or wartime economics. “We don’t have to launch wars to gain market share,” he states. “We can do it peacefully by licensing our technology, because we’ll have the competitive advantage.”
Par Chadha, whose diverse portfolio spans cybersecurity, automation, and eSports, is at the helm of ventures like Reaktr.ai, a platform offering cybersecurity-as-a-service. With the regulatory environment tightening, he notes, “Regulators are forcing companies to disclose breaches immediately. Management must sign public statements under penalty of perjury, but the problem is—nobody knows everything that quickly.”
This is where AI becomes infrastructure. “Reaktr provides a baseline using AI,” Chadha says, “aggregating insights from Google, Oracle, and cybersecurity firms to produce three defensible findings that can be used for compliance.”
The Human Element of AI
Chadha’s AI philosophy is deeply human.
“We have to think about retraining,” he insists. “It’s not just about automation replacing people. It’s about creating new kinds of jobs and helping the workforce transition. Otherwise, we become Europe—stagnant, overtaxed, and slow.”
This notion aligns with Chadha’s advocacy for servant leadership. “If you want to move up, the best way is to make the people who work for you successful,” he says. In the AI era, this means empowering teams to adapt, learn, and own their evolution.
“Most people don’t realize there’s a problem until it’s too late,” Chadha reflects, in a moment that touches on his own experience as both a father and a founder. “You have to recognize it early and convert it into an opportunity.”
Indeed, his thoughts on automation carry a call to arms for small businesses. “They’ve been ignored by big tech,” he says. “But if you take enterprise-level solutions and shrinkwrap them affordably, you unlock massive value. Automation can deliver flex capacity without needing to hire more.”
From his travels across India, Europe, and the Middle East, to his boardroom in California, Par Chadha has witnessed how culture, context, and capability intersect. And he believes AI must be deployed with this same contextual intelligence.
“You can’t talk about productivity in a vacuum,” he says. “It has to be culturally relevant, cost-efficient, and human-centric.”
Leadership in the AI Era
Par Chadha mentions AI not as a silver bullet but as a system-wide catalyst. And in his view, the challenge is not merely technical. It’s leadership.
“It’s up to the American leaders to get this right,” he says, firmly. “We have the chance to rebuild—but this time, it’s peacetime. And the competitive edge will come from how wisely we use AI.”
Chadha sums up the conversation insightfully: “Anybody can make money. But building something enduring? That requires vision, values, and the will to evolve.”
And for Par Chadha, evolution isn’t optional. It’s inevitable.
