There’s a lot of talk about AI and it being overhyped. I think that it’s fundamentally wrong to say it’s overhyped. This is a change on par with the printing press or electricity.
I get it. Many individual AI tools and startups are overhyped in their short-term promises.
I hear people dismiss AI, saying things like “it’s just a token prediction machine”. (The word “just” is doing a lot of work there)
There’s a technical truth to that description, I believe this reductionism is a misleading dismissal that blinds us to AI’s real-world power. It can still do incredible things and to focus solely on the underlying mechanism is to miss the transformative impact of these capabilities.
The underlying transformative power of AI as a class of technology is undeniably real and profound.
The impact is real and it’s happening now. Take a look at any business process, any workflow, any team structure – AI has the potential to reshape it entirely. It’s a complete transformation of how we work rather than incremental improvements.
I’m particularly concerned about what this means for our workforce. Admin roles, clerical positions, knowledge work, and most entry-level jobs are these are directly in the path of disruption. We’re seeing AI take on tasks that traditionally served as career starting points. This creates a serious challenge: how do we maintain career development paths when AI can handle many entry-level responsibilities?
Why Cut Staff When You Can Be More Productive?
Business leaders face a critical choice. You can use AI to cut costs by reducing headcount, or you can use it to increase productivity and efficiencies, and enhance your team’s capabilities while maintaining employment. I believe the second option – what I call Human-First AI – is not just more ethical, it’s strategically superior.
The quick wins of cost-cutting through AI-driven layoffs often mask the long-term damage to innovation, morale, and organisational knowledge. When you eliminate positions, you’re not just cutting costs – you’re potentially destroying career pathways and limiting your company’s future potential.
Let’s be practical about implementation. Even if AI development stopped today, it would take 10-20 years to properly integrate current capabilities into our business processes. This is a methodical journey that requires careful planning and continuous learning.
AI isn’t replacing expertise – it’s amplifying it. When experts use AI effectively, they can achieve significantly better results than either AI or humans working alone. This is why building internal AI capabilities matters more than chasing the latest AI trend.
We need to be clear-eyed about both opportunities and risks. AI can solve complex problems and drive innovation, but it also brings challenges around bias, misuse, and unintended consequences. Our choices today will determine whether AI becomes a positive or negative force in our organisations.
I’m deeply concerned about how AI is being misused in some high-profile applications right now, particularly seeing government agencies rush to implement AI systems potentially without proper safeguards or human oversight, treating AI as a cure-all for complex policy challenges. This is disappointing and potentially dangerous. These misuses undermine public trust.
Environmental impact and intellectual property concerns are part of this equation. AI systems use significant power, and some AI companies have questionable practices around sourcing of IP for training their systems. These aren’t reasons to avoid AI, but they’re important factors in developing a responsible approach.
My position is straightforward: AI represents a pivotal shift in how we work, and we need to approach it with both urgency and responsibility. Human-First AI isn’t just an ethical choice – it’s a practical framework for sustainable success. It means using AI to enhance human capabilities rather than replace them, to create opportunities rather than eliminate them.
This Human-First approach, as I outline in more detail in my AI Adoption Roadmap whitepaper, requires a focused strategy with key elements like:
- Strategic thinking about workforce development
- Investment in training and upskilling
- Clear ethical guidelines for AI implementation
- Focus on long-term value over short-term cost savings
The organisations that thrive in the AI era won’t be those that cut the most jobs – they’ll be those that best combine human expertise with AI capabilities. This is why every business leader needs to think carefully about how they approach AI implementation.
I’m sharing this perspective because I believe we’re at a critical point. The decisions we make about AI now will shape our organisations – and our society – for decades to come. Let’s make sure we get it right.
For a deeper dive into building a Human-First AI strategy, explore my whitepapers on AI Adoption, Risk, and Opportunity, available on my website. If you’re interested in discussing how to implement Human-First AI in your organisation, feel free to get in touch.
