AI is coming whether we ask for it or not. That’s not a threat; it’s just where we’re going. The tools it brings are too useful and too empowering to simply go away. If you’ve felt overwhelmed by the pace of change lately, you’re not alone. Just like the browser wars of the dot-com era, we are seeing huge changes and shifts in the industry on a weekly basis.
The headlines don’t help. Paycom, PayPal, UPS — major companies have made dramatic cuts, citing automation as the reason. Goldman Sachs estimates AI could affect up to 300 million jobs globally. That’s an understandable source of anxiety. But here’s what those headlines tend to leave out: two out of three employers who cut jobs due to AI are already rehiring laid-off workers, often within months. It turns out many of them didn’t fully understand the technology they were leaning so heavily into, and they badly underestimated the value of the experience that walked out the door with their people.
AI is good at automating tasks, not jobs. Repetitive work, rule-based processes, and data entry—that’s where it shines. But it can’t replace the judgment, relationships, and adaptability that make up most of what people actually do. It can summarize your emails, but it’s up to you to understand them. It can chat with a potential customer and set an appointment, but someone still has to show up.
What AI is genuinely doing right now for businesses of every size is giving each of us a force multiplier. Need a report? Don’t spend an hour building it. Need a first draft? Done before your coffee is ready. The goal is that everyone gets an assistant, and we get freed from the busy work that crowds out the real work.
The same principle applies to creativity. AI can show a designer what their first idea looks like in minutes. How they engage from there is what makes them the creative they are. The prep work is done faster, and we all get more art.
So, what can we do now to avoid being left behind? The honest answer is: just try something. The best education available right now is self-directed. Experiment like a child with a new toy—low stakes at first—just see what it can do. These tools are the private tutor we thought we were getting when the internet was young. They don’t judge; they work on your schedule, and they’ll meet you where you are.
As Andrew Ng keeps saying, this technology is the new electricity. It won’t run everything, but eventually it will run quietly underneath almost everything. The businesses that come out ahead won’t be the ones that replaced their people with it. They’ll be the ones that empowered them to use it like the tool it is.
(An informative article from the Chamber’s Small Business Council member Sam Hardin, AI Automation & Augmentation Consultant with Bright Pivot.)