At the Gulf Coast Business Council’s September 24 general membership meeting, Dr. Kollin Napier described AI agents that can analyze files, use software and complete multistep tasks. Business leaders can delegate work to those systems, he said, but people remain responsible for reviewing and approving the results.
Napier, chief artificial intelligence officer of the Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN), joined Council President and CEO Jamie Miller for the meeting’s featured conversation. He urged leaders to ask what information employees are entering into AI tools, who checks the output and what risks could reach customers. Privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property and inaccurate information all require attention.
Consider a customer quote. An AI agent could gather information and draft one. The company must decide what data the agent may access, who verifies the figures and who approves the quote before it goes out. The company owns the result sent to the customer.
Napier cautioned that buying software licenses alone will not make an organization effective with AI. Leaders need to understand their data and workflows, train staff, set rules for use and assign responsibility for decisions and mistakes.
Napier urged leaders to learn quickly and delegate carefully. A practical first step is to choose one recurring problem, name an owner and measure how the work is done now. Test an AI-assisted approach, review its output and compare results before expanding. That gives employees a process they can use and leaders a result they can evaluate.
Napier described becoming “AI native” as building that understanding across an organization and applying the tools to its actual goals. When asked whether AI could weaken people’s thinking skills, he emphasized human accountability, critical thinking, problem solving and communication.
Napier said he hopes responsible AI adoption will make Mississippi businesses more productive, create better opportunities for workers and help communities across the state share in the gains.
Miller also described Napier’s role in the Council’s regional planning work. Napier has helped the 2026 Masters Leadership class use AI in research for the Coastal Mississippi Regional Priorities Alignment Framework. The framework draws on roughly 60 plans, public documents and interviews to identify shared outcomes. A select committee will review the findings and recommend actions; the framework itself will not prescribe projects.
Napier invited attendees to share their organizations’ needs with MAIN. Employers can explore MAIN’s no-cost AI courses and resources. GCBC’s full meeting recap covers the Council’s wider regional updates.