- Extreme Networks CTO Nabil Bukhari created an AI clone of himself to help manage responsibilities.
- Bukhari said it handles 80% of project and program reviews, giving him more time with his family.
- He said the goal isn't to replace himself with AI, but to increase how much he can get done.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nabil Bukhari, the Seattle-based president of AI platforms and chief technology officer at AI-powered cloud-networking company Extreme Networks. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I wear multiple hats at Extreme Networks, a company with roughly 3,000 employees. I'm the president of the AI business, own the product portfolio, and serve as the CTO.
The decision to create an AI clone of myself started as a joke. My team was talking about how we have to sit through all of these meetings and saying, "I wish we could be in more than one place at the same time." We laughed about it.
Afterward, I was like, "Maybe we can be in more than one place at the same time." Then, we really started the process.
We trained it on internal and external writing and speaking samples, including transcripts, social media posts, external speaking engagements, and press interviews. This helps the agent sound like me, not just reason like me. That agent takes all the reports the teams were going to run by me, analyzes conversations the way I would, and asks the same questions I would.
So now, rather than trying to get time on my calendar, which can be really complicated, these teams work with the agent in the first round of reviews, and the agent asks them questions and gives them feedback. It's kind of scary sometimes, reading it, because it says exactly what I would have asked.
We implemented this seven or eight months ago, but we've reached a point where 80% of project and program reviews don't even come to me. The team also gives the agent feedback on that interaction. We constantly evaluate, retrain, and improve the agent.
It started off just handling project update reviews, but then we expanded it to include program updates, business plan reviews, and product specifications and similar structured reviews. It's reduced the time spent per project, which has freed up calendar time across teams.
We don't expect it to get everything right
Early on, there was about a 50% overlap between the questions I asked and those the AI clone asked. Now, it's around 85% to 90%.
We're still big on keeping humans in the loop. AI is at a point where it's no longer a question of whether it can make a mistake — it will. The mistake may be infrequent, but you don't know where it will happen. So there has to be a human in the loop, especially for critical decisions.
We have complete control over what feedback the agent gives, what decisions it makes, and which decisions it characterizes. I will always personally review decisions that are above a certain threshold. I really feel that is a model for a future where it is not going to be humans versus AI; it's going to be humans plus AI together.
I have more time for my kids
I have a 6-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they have a nanny who drops them off at school and picks them up. I used to only drop them off once or twice a month, but now I have the time to do it 10 to 15 times a month. Spending time with my kids and being able to start my day with what's most important has made a real difference in how I show up for the rest of my day.
When I drop off my kids at school and come back, I'm definitely in a happier mood for my first meeting. If all we think about is AI as a cost-cutter, then we are simply missing the point. Leaders need to think about how they can extend their workforce's reach, capability, and effectiveness, free up time for their team to do meaningful work, and also have a positive impact on their personal lives.
AI will always be better at executing tasks than humans. The goal is not to turn humans into machines and compete against AI. We need to give humans time to be more human. The more human part is bringing that gut feel to thinking about things — and that's the part AI isn't that good at right now.
Rather than putting more on people's plates because certain functions are being done by an AI agent, we've actually reduced that and left space for thinking, which has had a really positive impact. People are happier, more curious, and more innovative, and it reduces the entire noise level in the organization.
Our thinking was that AI is nowhere near replacing a human, and frankly, that's not the goal, and I don't think it should be.
When people are constantly moving from one task to the next, there's little space to step back, process what's happening, or work through harder problems. Automation helps reduce that task churn.
The goal isn't speed for its own sake, but creating room for intentional thinking. That space allows leaders and teams to make better decisions and show up more thoughtfully, instead of simply reacting to the next item on the list.
