AI’s Dirty Secret? It May Not Benefit Who You Think.

By Nick Gray, Founder & CEO, IGU Global

AI is sold to us as a rising tide that lifts all boats. A little poetic perhaps but fundamentally at its core it's supposed to make work lighter, free us for more creativity and thinking, and create an even more human future. There's a dirty secret in there that many are starting to question: Who is it really benefiting? 

There's no doubt right now a lot of the immediate gains flow upwards to the shareholders, boards, and senior executives, while the costs fall downwards on the middle and frontline. Even then, if you manage to save your job or role, many of those left behind aren’t freed from the impact of AI. The workload and expectation they’re carrying is becoming heavier, more complex, and way more emotionally demanding as a result.

There’s a narrative we’ve all bought into here as brands and business that if you’re not chasing AI, you’re being left behind. But is that actually true or are we just at a point now where we are starting to strip more away from your business in the name of efficiency and productivity and what damage that could have in the long run. The cracks are starting to show when it comes to culture, in connection, trust and loyalty.

And for what? And for whom?

As many of us lean into the beautiful illusion of AI and the way it has been so cleverly designed to manufacture trust with each of us, leaders are slowly falling into what is now called AI Psychosis which I wrote about in an earlier article. This has created the need for more critical thinking and in my opinion it's never been more urgent. Not just for your company’s P&L, but for the kind of business you want to be and the kind of customers you are trying to work with. If the feedback is right there's a lot of customers that would rather buy from a brand that invests in making humans better than one that is simply the fastest or most efficient.

The Margin Reflex

For many organisations, AI has been framed as the golden cost lever.

BT Group announced up to 55,000 job cuts by 2030, with around 10,000 directly replaced by AI. Klarna proudly declared that its AI assistant now does the work of 700 employees, saving US$40 million annually, a neat story to tell ahead of its IPO. Amazon’s CEO has been super blunt about it, corporate headcount will shrink as AI scales.

Now don't get me wrong, the markets loved it. Shares climbed. Valuations rose.

However, efficiency is infinitely copyable. Every competitor can deploy the same tools, the same cost savings, until the advantage disappears. What can’t be copied is the human equity, that's the things like trust, culture, and presence and these are the things that actually sustains long-term competitiveness.

The Hidden Human Cost

AI doesn’t just reduce headcount. It reshapes the roles left behind.

• Role compression. When AI strips out the simple tasks, humans inherit only the complex, high-stakes, emotionally heavy work. Customer service roles shift from answering routine queries to managing only the toughest, angriest cases. Every day becomes firefighting.

  
  

• Expectation creep. Machines operate at instant speed, and suddenly humans are judged by the same standard. Reports that once took a week must now be turned around in a day. Reflection gets lost because “the data’s already there.”

  
  

• AI Psychosis. AI Psychosis is the psychological toll that emerges when humans outsource their judgement to machines or are forced to behave like machines themselves. Whether it shows up as dependency on constant affirmation or the pressure to match machine speed, the result is the same: dissonance, erosion of confidence, and the slow collapse of critical thinking.

• Invisible labour. The remaining work is deeply human. empathy, care, presence, judgement. Yet because it doesn’t fit neatly into KPIs, it often goes unseen and unrewarded, quietly draining people until the well runs completely dry.

  
  

It's not the wellness risk here that I want to focus on either. It’s the business continuity risk. Burnout drives turnover which costs. Disengagement spreads like wildfire. Capability slowly drains away. There's no short-term efficiency gain that can save a business hollowed out from the inside.

There Are Companies Flipping the Script

Thankfully, we can see some organisations who are choosing augmentation over subtraction.

Walmart rolled out AI tools across 1.5 million associates, but instead of cutting headcount, invested in training and career pathways. By stripping away friction, they gave associates more time for what matters: helping customers, solving problems, learning skills for the next role.

Starbucks got there but probably learned the hard way. After pushing automation, they saw and felt satisfaction begin to slide. Coffee lost its warmth and became purely transactional. In 2025, they reversed course, rehiring baristas, restoring hours, and cutting back on machines. What Starbucks realised was they weren’t just selling caffeine, they were selling human connection.

Best Buy took a hybrid path. They streamlined back-end processes with AI, but invested more in staff training and store hours. Super smart move. Behind the scenes, operations run smoother and on the floor, there are more humans to help, and they’re better equipped to do it. The result, a much stronger service and earnings that beat expectations even in a flat sales environment.

These companies aren’t anti-AI. They’re pro-human and it's moves like this that send a very clear message. They’ve seen that the real opportunity isn’t how much you can take away, but how much you can add back.

So The Dividend Question

Every company now faces the same decision: What do you do with the AI dividend?

Do we push all the value upwards to shareholders? Or do you reinvest in the humans who can deliver your culture, carry your brand, and keep your customers loyal?

Look, this isn’t just about finance. It’s existential. It simply defines whether AI becomes an extractive force or a generative one.

Humans Will Always Human

AI will only get faster, smarter, and more capable and I love the opportunities it can create to improve. But as I always say  “Humans will always Human.” Inside any business, employees will still need recognition, belonging, and leaders who listen. Outside, customers will still choose brands that make them feel safe, seen, and supported.

Efficiency can be copied. Human presence cannot.

It's not going to be about who can be the most efficient from making the deepest cuts, it will be about who can unlock more human presence and not less. They will be the companies that win.

And what's IGU Global’s Position?

At IGU Global, we’re not anti-AI. We’re pro-human. AI is a valuable tool when used the right way. Its value however depends on the lens you choose. If you see it only seeing it as a cost lever, you’ll hollow out the very equity that's built and sustains your business. And if you use it to empower humans, you’ll build loyalty, resilience, and competitive advantage that your competitors cannot replicate.

If you want to understand the steps to humanise your business in the age of AI, get in touch. At IGU Global, we work with brands and businesses to design cultures, systems, and experiences where technology serves people, not the other way around.

The real question for every business right now isn’t, “How much can I cut with AI?”

It’s this, “How much more human can my business become because of it?”