AI Breaks Open Generation Gaps
The AI and deep tech-related opinion I'm about to share may not be particularly well received, but it's been on my mind for a while, and I think it's important to interrogate it. It came to the fore for me when I was on a call with a potential client (who shall remain nameless) last week, where some major data security considerations were being overlooked. I'm socialising this now because I believe there are enough real-world case studies to somewhat back my stance up.
Here goes: AI is breaking open generation gaps.
Far too often, I see executives and business leaders who outright dismiss AI or think it's "so interesting!" without doing much about it. Not helping is the proliferation of news stories highlighting some Gen Z-er who has coded something up using AI or written a report with a language model and done zero due diligence, creating one or another drama. It’s dumb, for sure - but these stories ignore the broader integration, utility and efficiencies gained from AI tools and capabilities. In fact, they only highlight the need for training, governance and awareness.
But dismissing AI as a novelty which can be batted away is risky for two key reasons. The obvious one is the risk of being left behind - Australian usage of AI continues to grow but is still lagging other regions, despite the fact that a lot of great insight into what provides value and how to set your business up for success is available to us.
The second risk is less obvious: without proper engagement from senior business leaders as well as government, we will be left with an immature approach to AI use, governance and data security, inevitably tripping ourselves up in due course.
The risk of being left behind
Let’s look at the age thing first.
The now-infamous Chinese AI startup DeepSeek recently shook up Wall Street and US AI companies when they showed they could do more with less. Over Christmas, they quietly released R1, a model that they built at a fraction of the price of OpenAI and Anthropic’s equivalents, which they did so despite the ban on Chinese access to advanced chips. Making the feat even more impressive is that they did it with a team of relative youngsters: “There are no [AI] wizards,” DeepSeek founder and CEO Liang Wengfeng said in an interview last year. “We are mostly fresh graduates from top universities, PhD candidates in their fourth or fifth years, and some young people graduated just a few years ago.”
You might say: well, that’s DeepSeek - that’s different. Fair. Let’s instead turn our attention to Anysphere, the makers of Cursor, the AI-powered coding assistant which is changing how developers write software. The Anysphere leadership team consists of four friends in their twenties who graduated from MIT a couple of years ago. Anysphere was valued at USD 2.5 billion in January this year.
Again, you might say: Kids have started businesses since the beginning of time, some hit and some miss. True. Instead, let’s talk about how this technology is being used by Gen Z. Numerous reports suggest that younger generations are more inclined to integrate AI into their daily activities, both personally and professionally. According to research by Salesforce, 65% of generative AI users are Millennials or Gen Z, whereas 68% of non-users are Gen X or Baby Boomers.
It’s the latter that are typically the strategic decision-makers in organisations, while the former are the ones executing the work - this divide will mean there is a disconnect across the organisational structure regarding how and where AI is used, if at all. Over time, this will inevitably change; coming generations will leverage this technology at all levels of their schooling and then take it into the workplace with them, one among many tools in their kit, making AI usage as natural as any other software.
But it’s also important to know that, whether we like it or not, AI is already deeply integrated into our lives. Several tools we use daily have AI integration or, at the very least, smart algorithms that personalise our experience. This isn’t a debate about opting in or out - it is simply happening. This includes everything from your iPhone to the surveillance systems around us to health and medical technology (where AI is proving to be highly effective).
To be clear, AI media hype should be interrogated. Companies and business leaders selling AI tools and capability should be scrutinised in terms of ethical use and practical value. We should ask questions - for example, do we want AI integrated into household appliances? What happens if we integrate it into national defence capability? How much exposure should our kids have to it?
These conversations aren’t just important - they’re urgent. Leaders across industries must actively shape AI’s trajectory rather than passively react to its consequences - or worse, ignore it altogether.
The risk of immaturity
I do get the reluctance to engage. Job displacement fears are justified - older professionals may resist AI because they see it as a threat. There is also a real risk of over-reliance on AI - if it becomes normalised, what does that do for our critical thinking?
Which leads me to my next point. The risk of not taking AI seriously is that we will be left with an immature approach to governance that will not adequately address the core challenges and safety risks AI presents.
Some of these issues could be privacy-related, copyright concerns or safety risks. It could be something totally unexpected - Gen AI is trained on data scraped from all corners of the web, and what gets vacuumed up and for what purpose is not always made public, which makes anticipating possible outcomes fraught. But an open, engaged stance is needed. AI is and will continue to be integrated into systems and software - and we need to be aware: this is not just another Microsoft Word. As far as I know, the MS Office suite never posed an existential risk (even if Excel has led to many an existential crisis).
AI is different - and needs to be treated as such. So while it offers immense business value, responsible adoption is key. Without clear governance, organisations risk inefficiencies, ethical pitfalls and security vulnerabilities. The question, then, is how to engage AI effectively…
What to do about it
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated that he believes that AI creates the potential for a one-person billion-dollar business. We might not be there yet, but the point is pertinent: AI and related tech creates opportunities - small and medium-sized businesses have access to powerful, game changing capability which formerly only enterprise level spend could give you access to.
Step one is to begin the conversation.
In our work with our clients as well as in our partnership with MarTech experts Divide By Zero, we take a strategic approach to AI implementations, building governance frameworks, principles and guidelines which set the course for an aligned, cross-functional approach. This places the focus where it needs to be: on sustainable transformative growth and internal efficiencies which have clear direction through alignment with business objectives.
For businesses that want to bridge the generational AI divide strategically, a strong strategy and governance frameworks are key. If you're ready to future-proof your business, let's talk.
For expert advice on how to leverage AI for your business needs, get in touch today.
