AI's Dirty Little Secret...

There’s No AI.com Where You Can Download AI.exe and Magically Solve All Your Business Problems

What Is AI Really Doing — and What It’s Not

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to technology that enables machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence — recognizing patterns, making predictions, understanding language, or automating decisions.

But let’s be clear: AI is not intelligent. It’s not thinking. It’s not making decisions.

It’s giving you exactly what it’s been trained — or programmed — to give. Nothing more.

The Marketing Machine Behind “Intelligence”

Tech companies have done a brilliant job selling AI to non-technical audiences — particularly executives. They’ve packaged it as the inevitable future, a must-have, a silver bullet for efficiency, cost savings, and competitiveness.

But here’s the rub: AI doesn’t understand your business problems.

It doesn’t understand your customers, your priorities, or your operational constraints. And because of that, choosing the right AI tools and applying them strategically still requires human expertise — ideally someone who understands both technology and business.

Automating Repetitive Tasks? That’s Not New

Yes, AI can automate repetitive or manual work. Yes, it can improve efficiency. But let’s not pretend this is new.

We’ve had tools that do this for over 30 years — RPA, ETL pipelines, macros, scripting, schedulers.

The difference? Most companies just never prioritized automating these workflows. Now that someone slapped the word “AI” on it, suddenly it’s a boardroom priority.

Where AI — and LLMs — Actually Shine

Despite the hype, there’s real value in the latest AI tools — particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini.

They can assist with communication, analysis, and summarization at a level we haven’t had before. Suddenly, the colleague whose emails used to read like they were written by Hemingway with a hangover now sounds like Shakespeare with a thesaurus.

LLMs can’t think for you — but they can help you communicate, explore, and iterate faster.

Bottom Line

AI is not the panacea it’s being marketed as. It’s a tool, or to be more exact a series of tools — and like any tool, its value depends entirely on who’s using it, and for what purpose.

If you’re being pitched AI as a cure-all, take a step back and ask:

• What specific business problem is this solving?

• What human judgment is still required?

• And who is responsible for making sure the technology serves the strategy — not the other way around?

  
  

If you're unsure whether your IT team or vendors are pitching hype or solving real problems, let's talk.  

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