A.I. and Achieving Real Business Differentiation

‘The value of differentiation will only increase as more follow the A.I. herd’

Not our quote but one we saw in a particularly interesting online post this week.

What the writer is commenting on is the increasing level with which AI is being used to provide all things necessary for Brand Management and the more brands that purely consult AI for their strategies and tactics will fall into a pool of ‘sameness’ that omits being different and truly setting the pace.

This transfers to Business Management too! Of course, AI can be helpful but, largely speaking, AI will connect things that have already happened, or that are current and put forward the most appropriate solutions, as determined to date, for the challenges posed. So, by working purely with AI you are digging into the past or present and doing something, in some shape or form, that has already occurred or is occurring.



What’s lacking here? Original thinking, different types of thinking, ideas and concepts/ products that have never been thought of or launched yet. Human cognition is incredibly intricate, involving a wide range of cognitive functions such as perception, reasoning, language understanding, creativity, and emotional intelligence. The sort of things that a leading business, one who truly want to lead their market, must foster and develops by using their people and other external people’s expertise to fashion the future. Humans have a deep and nuanced understanding of context, which allows them to make sense of ambiguous or incomplete information. As an example, would AI have thought about the ‘Hole in the Wall’ as the solution to more access to cash for people? Of course, this invention is years old but fast forward it to now and as a bank ask AI ‘How do we improve our customers access to cash?’ and by linking what had already gone on AI would have suggested the most effective and efficient way of getting cash to customers within the parameters of the banking world that already exists – for example ‘more flexible banking hours, longer opening times’ and more. Nothing earth shattering there and largely incremental in change terms! The ‘Hole in the Wall’ was a transformative innovation that could only be conceived by individuals with the capacity for creative thinking and the ability to envision novel ideas.

While AI has made remarkable progress and continues to evolve, it still faces fundamental challenges in replicating the full spectrum of human cognition. AI should not be dismissed or ignored but the most powerful ‘computer’ still rests in the heads of the human race – business owners and managers just need to create the circumstances and the emotional context that allow those ‘human computers’ to be used to think about new ideas, the future for markets and products and to come up with something never thought of before. Those brands and businesses who foster human brainpower and imagination supported by AI, will be the leaders in terms of brand power and business.

To infuse genuine human creativity into your business, complemented by AI as a valuable support tool, please contact François Contreiras on +44 7473 298 853 or reach out to him via email at francois.contreiras@tinderboxbd.com if you would like to learn more.