I don’t want to see a single human being laid off because of AI.
Plain and simple.
Some will call this naive.
After all, the “inevitable future” is already unfolding – ChatGPT and Gemini are writing marketing copy, Claude is writing software, Midjourney is creating images, and countless bots are handling customer queries.
The “smart” business move is supposedly clear: replace, reduce, repeat.
But I’m not interested in that path. And I won’t help companies pursue it.
The Choice Every Organisation Faces
When implementing AI, every organisation faces a fundamental choice that reveals their true character:
Do more with the same – Use AI to enhance human capabilities, allowing your team to achieve more while maintaining your workforce
OR
Do the same with less – Replace humans with AI, maintaining the same output while reducing headcount
This isn’t abstract philosophy. It’s the practical business choice that exposes whether your company values efficiency over humanity—or has the imagination to pursue both.
Why I’ve Drawn This Line
Over the past couple of years, I’ve helped organisations implement AI solutions that have:
- Reduced processing times by 92%
- Cut operational costs by 90%
- Increased capacity by 12X
But here’s what matters: We achieved these results without eliminating a single job.
Instead, we freed people from mind-numbing tasks so they could focus on work that uses their uniquely human abilities – creativity, empathy, strategic thinking, and complex problem-solving.
(The spreadsheets deserved no human love anyway.)
My Line in the Sand
I will not work with organisations that simply want to use AI to lay off their staff.
I’ve walked away from potential clients. I’ve turned down projects. I’ve lost revenue.
And I’ll do it again.
I will only work with businesses committed to using AI to support their people and make their work lives better.
This isn’t just an ethical position – though it certainly is that. It’s also a strategic one. The short-term sugar rush of cost-cutting through AI will eventually give way to the long-term hangover of lost knowledge, damaged culture, and stunted innovation.
Organisations that preserve human knowledge, experience, and relationships while augmenting them with AI will ultimately outperform those that replace humans with technology.
The Business Case for Human-First AI
When you maintain your workforce while implementing AI:
-
- You preserve institutional knowledge that no model can replicate (because it’s never been written down)
- You maintain customer relationships built on human connection (which customers actually want)
- You keep your cultural foundations intact (culture eats AI for breakfast)
- You boost morale and productivity (people work better when they’re not terrified of being replaced)
<li”>You gain frontline insights for continuous improvement (the people closest to the work know what’s really happening
The lab we worked with didn’t fire their scientists when we automated data entry. They could have. It would have looked great on the quarterly report.
But they didn’t.
Instead, they reassigned them to higher-value analytical work, resulting in better research outcomes AND a 10,000% ROI on the AI implementation.
Who benefits from keeping humans? Everyone. Who loses with mass replacement? Eventually, everyone.
The Reality I’m Not Ignoring
Let’s be honest: I know I’m trying to hold back the ocean here.
The economic forces driving AI adoption are massive, relentless, and indifferent to individual manifestos. Shareholders demand efficiency. Markets reward cost-cutting. And yes, some jobs will almost certainly disappear entirely.
I’m not naive about this. The wave is coming, and no single person or company can fully redirect it.
But that doesn’t mean we surrender to inevitability entirely.
Even if the broader trend continues, individual businesses can make different choices. Your organisation can be the exception. You can choose to prioritise augmentation over replacement. Your AI strategy can reflect better values.
I’m choosing to work exclusively with those exceptions – the businesses willing to navigate AI adoption without treating their people as expendable resources. It might be swimming against the current, but it’s the only approach I can stand behind.
Some fights are worth fighting, even when you know you can’t completely win.
A Better Path Forward
AI will transform work. That’s unavoidable. But we get to choose HOW that transformation happens.
We can choose a path where:
- Entry-level positions can evolve rather than disappear
- Career paths can adapt rather than collapse
- Human creativity and AI capabilities can combine rather than compete
- Technology can serve humanity rather than the reverse
My Commitment (And Challenge) To You
If you’re a business leader looking to implement AI:
I will help you find ways to use AI that enhance your team’s capabilities without eliminating jobs.
I will show you how to achieve remarkable efficiency gains while maintaining workforce stability.
I will guide you in creating an AI strategy that delivers both business results and human wellbeing.
But I won’t help you replace your people. And I’ll ask the uncomfortable questions other consultants won’t.
The Question That Matters Most
When we look back at this AI revolution a decade from now, which side of history will you be on?
The one that used incredible technology to amplify human potential? Or the one that saw people as just another cost to optimise away?
That future is being written right now, by leaders like you, making choices about how to implement these powerful tools.
What’s your next move?
