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AI rollouts help the strongest employees and quietly harm the weakest ones

Most leaders expect AI to lift all employees equally. It actually boosts strong performers and actively harms struggling workers

Malte Mueller / Getty Images

When researchers from UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Columbia gave small business owners in Kenya access to a GPT-4-powered AI adviser on WhatsApp for six months, the strongest entrepreneurs, those who had already done well for themselves, benefited most. Their profits rose by roughly 15% compared with the half of owners who received no AI assistance. Those with serious revenue issues before the experiment saw theirs fall by nearly 10%. AI did more harm to them than good.

The tool was identical, and the advice was similar in volume and type. What differed was what people did with it. High-performing entrepreneurs used AI to find ideas specific to their situation. One cybercafe owner began renting out gaming accessories. A car-wash operator added a popular detergent and started selling cold drinks to people waiting for their vehicles. Another entrepreneur found backup power sources to keep operating during electricity blackouts. Low performers gravitated toward generic suggestions, such as cutting prices or spending more on advertising. Those moves eroded margins without bringing in enough new revenue to........

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