Humanizing Technology: Dr. Max Renault on the Future of AI-Enabled, Human-First Organizations
Exploring the Transformative Intersection of Behavioral Science and Artificial Intelligence
Ahead of the 2nd Annual Qatar Digital Talent Ecosystem Dialogue, we interviewed Dr. Max Renault, Director of Innovations in Global Precision Health at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar, to explore his insights on how behavioral science and AI are reshaping the future of work.
As Innovations Director at Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar, Dr. Max Renault leverages cutting-edge AI advances to transform precision health outcomes. His expertise extends beyond academia—he is also CEO and Co-Founder of OYOS Technologies, a Qatar-based startup fusing agentic AI with behavioral science to supercharge employees, teams, and organizational culture.
With over two decades of global experience spanning Formula One racing, aerospace, IT, manufacturing, and healthcare, Dr. Renault brings a unique multidisciplinary perspective to the challenges of modern organizations and leadership. Holding both a Master’s in Engineering and a PhD in Management, his academic foundation underpins a career trajectory that has positioned him at the forefront of understanding how technology and human behavior intersect in organizational settings.
The Human Element in Technological Advancement
When asked about how his diverse experience has shaped his perspective, Dr. Renault emphasizes that regardless of industry or organizational size, human dynamics remain the fundamental determinant of success. “What I find intriguing is that no matter the industry, what really shapes most of the work is people coming together into teams,” he explains. “This requires a lot of orchestration and management of many stakeholders—this is about dealing with people, motivations, engagement, emotions.”
This human-centered observation has driven his excitement about recent technological developments. “I’m excited about the latest advances in AI, as a tool to help staff and leaders in this journey,” he notes, highlighting the potential for technology to augment rather than replace human capabilities.
Affective Leadership During Crises
Dr. Renault’s research on team adaptation during crises has yielded compelling insights about what truly enables resilience under pressure. His studies of nursing teams navigating consecutive crises—including severe floods and the COVID-19 pandemic—revealed that emotional intelligence outweighs procedural discipline when it comes to effective crisis response.
“What differentiated successful adaptive teams was how they dealt with emotions through camaraderie and having an emotionally intelligent, caring team leader,” he shares. “It was not so much about following protocols and procedures, since they all did that anyway.”
One particularly striking example stands out in his research: “I saw firsthand how one particular nursing team -built closeness and cohesion during their everyday morning standup meetings (huddles), and how their team leader was a caring mother-type figure who put her nurses’ needs first.”
The leader’s philosophy resonated deeply with Dr. Renault: “We need to acknowledge the process of grieving when change happens. It will affect people differently, and we need to support each other regardless of how they’re affected.” This emotional awareness, he suggests, is what ultimately enables teams to navigate uncertainty successfully.
The Promising Frontier of AI and Behavioral Science
As organizations increasingly explore the integration of artificial intelligence with behavioral science, Dr. Renault identifies conversational AI as a particularly promising application. “What is really exciting in this field right now are LLM agent chatbots, which are rapidly becoming more human-like, more precise, more capable,” he explains.
While acknowledging the hype surrounding these technologies, he emphasizes their practical potential: “When designed/trained carefully and deployed intelligently across the organization, they can truly enhance the individual-level employee experience as well as the business as a whole.”
AI Coaching for Adaptive Mindsets
Dr. Renault challenges conventional approaches to organizational agility that focus primarily on processes rather than people. “Building agility starts with people, not just processes,” he asserts. “Too often we overlook that it is people who do the work. This means, there are critical human emotional and behavioral realities we need to deal with—and these are hard.”
His research has identified specific emotional barriers to adaptability: “Stress, demotivation, misalignment, not speaking up, unspoken friction… these are blockers of agility. As my own research showed, it is the behavioral and emotional dynamics that shape how agile a team is.”
This is where AI coaching tools offer transformative potential. “Having personalized AI coaches who can help individual employees on a daily basis better understand their motivations, their communication style, how to build effective collaboration and conflict resolution skills, and so forth… now that’s transformational,” he explains. “Staff would feel more valued, they’ll be more engaged, and this is what lays at the foundation of agility and resilience.”
The Future of Workplace Well-being
Looking toward emerging research trends, Dr. Renault believes the intersection of AI and psychological well-being represents the most promising frontier. “Some of the most exciting areas of organizational research center on how technology, and more specifically AI-enabled solutions, can impact our psychological safety, mental health and wellbeing more widely, at work,” he notes. “Isn’t this what every employee wants and needs to be happy and performant at work?”
This human-centered approach to technology adoption is central to his vision. “We need to focus on what our employees need at work… that is, psychological safety, teamwork, feeling valued and cared for, feeling motivated and so forth,” he explains. “If we get the AI tools designed, trained and deployed in the right human-centered ways, we can truly make a difference in employees’ everyday lives.”
The ultimate goal, according to this visionary leader, transcends technological implementation: “This is how we transform organizations, engaging one employee at a time, to become great places to work and with a great culture.”
The Power of Diverse Perspectives
As a featured speaker at the upcoming dialogue, Dr. Renault expresses enthusiasm about the collaborative learning environment the event will foster. “I look forward to hearing from diverse stakeholders what organizational and people challenges they are facing, and how they aim to tackle them through technology,” he shares.
For this innovator, the real value lies in the exchange of practical experience: “Sharing different perspectives on what works and what doesn’t, is where progress can really happen.” This commitment to collaborative problem-solving exemplifies his approach to both research and implementation—bringing together diverse viewpoints to create more effective solutions.
This interview only begins to explore Dr. Renault’s pioneering approach to human-centered technology. What groundbreaking insights will he share about behavioral science and AI coaching at the upcoming Dialogue? How might his research-backed strategies transform your organization’s approach to leadership and employee engagement? Discover these answers and more as this thought leader takes the stage to reveal how artificial intelligence can enhance our most human capabilities.
Be part of the transformative 2nd Annual “Qatar Digital Talent Ecosystem Dialogue” where visionaries like Dr. Renault are redefining the intersection of technology and human potential. This landmark gathering aligned with Qatar’s Vision 2030 brings together the region’s most influential C-Suite executives, HR pioneers, government leaders, and academic innovators. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to engage directly with thought leaders who are architecting Qatar’s digital talent revolution & future of work. Learn more: https://digitaltalentdialogue.com/qatar/
