What does business look like when AI feels as normal as the mobile data you scroll without thinking? No hype, just habit? I landed in San Francisco on Friday and the first advert I saw warned: “AI won’t take your job… but someone using nooks [AI] will.” Almost every freeway billboard was talking about AI agents, enterprise models and super-human selling - making it really clear that over here, AI is no longer an add-on, it’s embedded into everything.
What strikes me is the pace gap. While many New Zealand boards are still running risk assessments, in Silicon Valley, the conversation has moved to rollout and scale. The takeaway isn’t “chase every shiny tool,” but recognise that businesses accelerate where investment and talent are focused.
The contrast between the US and NZ is clear: and there’s huge momentum to be gained by organisations that adopt and learn fast.
So here’s my nudge to fellow directors and leaders back home,:
* Does our strategy deliberately harness AI, or merely mention it?
* Is there a budget line for experimentation, or are our teams improvising?
* Have we updated KPIs so “augmented by AI” is the default, not the moon-shot?
* Are we leading from the top, making sure both you and the rest of your board are AI literate?
Clear space in your board agenda to ask where AI is l already creating value for you, and what are the obstacles you still need to clear?
Because whether we like it or not, the billboards are right: AI won’t take your job… but someone using AI will.
