AI: The Business Sidekick, Not the Boss

Jon Bain, founder of Obsolete, a London based consultancy that helps businesses through times of technological change, argues that artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t here to take over businesses, but to revolutionise them. Bain explains that the true role of AI is not to replace humans but to support them in their decision-making. “AI won’t ‘run’ business any more than electricity ‘runs’ business – it’s going to be a fundamental utility that transforms how we work, but humans will still be making the crucial decisions.” This shift is significant: AI will become a common, everyday tool used to augment human capabilities, just as spreadsheets became ubiquitous but never took over the decision-making process.

Looking ahead, Bain predicts that over the next 5-10 years, AI will be “as common as spreadsheets – utterly mundane but incredibly useful.” It’s clear that businesses won’t necessarily need to embrace every new AI tool, but will instead have to rethink their approach to human capital and operations as AI becomes embedded in daily workflows.

A Shift in Business Operations
The real transformation, Bain suggests, lies not in AI taking over, but in the way AI changes the very nature of work itself. “Right now, AI adoption is only around 15% in UK SMEs. The real transformation isn’t in AI taking over – it’s in how it’s changing the nature of work itself.” By automating mundane tasks, AI frees up skilled workers to focus on higher-level, more strategic responsibilities. This opens up possibilities businesses might not yet fully grasp. For instance, AI tools are already drastically improving efficiency. Bain shares, “AI tools are already collapsing weeks of work into minutes. We use various AI models – Claude is currently winning in our view – and the efficiency gains are staggering.” But this efficiency presents new challenges. “Traditional business models are breaking down – you can’t bill for three minutes of work, even if it took thirty years of experience to know what to do in those three minutes.” Entrepreneurs must therefore rethink their value propositions to adapt to these rapid shifts.

The Hidden Business Challenges
Bain also highlights that AI’s impact on business structures is subtle and potentially concerning. The key challenge isn’t job replacement, but rather the gradual erosion of entry-level roles. “When AI handles the grunt work that juniors used to cut their teeth on, how do you develop your next generation of talent?” This disruption could have long-term consequences for talent development, as the traditional career ladder begins to dissolve. “The distinction between juniors and seniors is starting to dissolve – when everyone has access to the same AI tools, the only real differentiator is wisdom and judgment.”

For businesses that rely on developing talent from the ground up, this shift poses a unique risk. The entrepreneurs who succeed will be those who understand how to nurture future leaders in a world where AI plays an increasingly large role. Bain stresses that “smart entrepreneurs need to be thinking about how they’ll develop talent in an AI-augmented world.”

Ethical and Governance Challenges
Bain also brings attention to the ethical complexities of AI, particularly around compliance and governance. “For UK businesses, compliance is becoming a major concern, especially with the EU AI Act on the horizon – and it’s actually more complex than GDPR.” Beyond compliance, businesses must contend with larger ethical challenges, especially around AI’s potential to widen inequalities. “The sustainability impact of AI is massive – these models consume enormous amounts of energy. Then there’s the digital divide – AI could either reduce or amplify existing inequalities in your market.”

For Bain, the central goal is to use AI to enhance human capabilities, not strip humanity out of business. “We actively turn down projects aimed at replacing entire departments because that approach usually backfires. The goal isn’t to strip humanity out of business – it’s to enhance what humans can do.” This is a powerful reminder for entrepreneurs to be thoughtful about how they implement AI while mitigating its risks.

The Customer Experience Dilemma
Finally, Bain addresses one of the most immediate applications of AI: customer service. However, he warns that businesses are often misguided in their approach. “AI won’t fix a broken business – it’ll just make it more efficiently broken.” When companies try to replace humans with AI in areas that require empathy and judgment, they often fail. Bain gives the example of AI chatbots, which “are absolutely terrible… Not because the technology is bad, but because companies are trying to remove humans from processes that fundamentally need human judgment and empathy.”

The true opportunity, Bain argues, lies in using AI to enhance human abilities, rather than replace them. In customer service, this could mean equipping agents with AI tools that give them real-time insights, emotional context, and predictive analytics, allowing them to deliver a much more personalized experience.

The Bottom Line: Rethinking Business in an AI-augmented World
Bain’s conclusion encapsulates the core of his message: AI will not “run” businesses, but it will undeniably transform how businesses operate. The future of business, Bain asserts, isn’t about whether AI will take over but about how businesses will operate in an “AI-augmented world.” The businesses that succeed will be those that use AI as a tool to amplify human capabilities, not to replace them.

“The real question isn’t whether AI will run your business – it’s how you’ll run your business in an AI-augmented world.” Entrepreneurs who understand this principle will not only navigate the AI revolution successfully but will also drive the next wave of business innovation.