I’ve just returned from the AI Transcend Summit in Istanbul, where I picked up some interesting signals about how roughly 150 entrepreneurs from around the world understand and are adopting AI.
Here’s what I saw:
- a significant share of entrepreneurs don’t use AI at all, not even for personal tasks
- a very large proportion (I’d say over 50%) use it in a very basic way: “I ask ChatGPT to write more and write better”
- only a minority use it in a genuinely effective way, seriously multiplying their own productivity 💡
What I was hoping to find, but didn’t, was:
- ideas or real experiences of AI adoption inside companies in a truly structured, process-driven way
- credible ideas or experiences about what we actually expect once this transitional period is over
And yet, it’s precisely these questions about the transitional phase and what comes next that should be guiding us as we try to picture a world where, potentially, every individual and every company will have multiplied their productivity through AI.
Uncomfortable questions — but necessary ones:
- for whom will all these additional products be made, and who will buy them?
- will there be a surplus of labour?
- and those who end up “surplus to requirements” — what role will they play, what space will they find? 🤔
One thing, for me, is certain today:
we are still in the phase of individual productivity gains, while the pace at which AI is being adopted in a structured way inside organisations is anything but fast.