Identic AI is the Next Leap in Digital Transformation, Says Don Tapscott

Don Tapscott, known as the “Father of the Digital Economy,” elaborated on his vision of Identic AI, a new class of personal AI agents designed to amplify human capabilities and fundamentally reshape how people work, learn and live, during the 2025 T-EDGE conference on Monday.

“Identic AI is the application of AI to supporting us as individuals,” Tapscott told Jany Hejuan Zhao, the founder and CEO of NextFin.AI and the publisher of Barron’s China. “Through personal agents that reflect our values and habits, each of us gains a kind of superpower—a cognitive extension that can act, reason, and help us make decisions.”

Unlike current generative AI or agentic AI systems, which primarily assist with creating content or automating tasks, Identic AI functions as a highly intelligent companion. These agents can manage schedules, monitor health, optimize workflows, draft communications, and even provide personalized guidance across finance, education, and healthcare. Tapscott predicts that within two to three years, such agents could become as common as smartphones.

In business, Identic AI will change how companies operate. Employees paired with intelligent agents will have “cognitive superpowers,” enabling them to outperform traditional executives, manage complex tasks, and retain institutional knowledge. Tapscott highlighted the example of Peter Diamandis, whose AI assistant PeterBot, trained on decades of his work, can now act as an extension of himself, performing tasks even more efficiently than he can.

Education, too, is set to undergo a radical transformation. Tapscott envisions AI tutors that provide customized, self-paced learning, helping students master subjects more efficiently while fostering deeper capabilities such as problem-solving, collaboration, and lifelong learning. “Every student can have a personal tutor tailored to their exact needs,” he said, “making education more effective and inclusive.”

Healthcare stands to benefit enormously as well. Identic AI agents can act as digital doctors, integrating personal health data with the latest medical knowledge to provide tailored care. Patients could receive continuous health guidance, preventive recommendations, and real-time monitoring, while medical professionals gain augmented intelligence to make more precise diagnoses and treatment decisions.

Tapscott also traced the evolution of digital identity over the past four decades. From simple digital identification through usernames and passwords, to comprehensive digital profiles, he said, the next step is giving identity an intelligence quotient. “With Identic AI, your digital self won’t just store your life—it will help you live it,” he said. “Imagine a personal agent with an IQ of 1,000, helping you navigate a complex world.”

Zhao's interview also reflected on Tapscott’s career, from his early work on the digital economy to collaborative innovation and blockchain. He emphasized that Identic AI represents a logical progression of the digital revolution: a focus not only on technology itself, but on how technology can enhance human potential at an individual level.

As AI continues to evolve rapidly, Identic AI may mark the beginning of a new era, one in which human intelligence is dramatically extended, personal choice is empowered, and industries from business to healthcare are fundamentally reshaped.