🚀 AI: The Real Opportunity Isn’t Taking Jobs—It’s Finding What’s Been Invisible All Along

Happy first business day of the year! Here's to kicking off a great 2025! Here is something that I'm really excited about for the coming few years...

I just went back to Philadelphia to see my family. Of course, because I live in Silicon Valley, I'm the resident AI expert, so I was like an AI Ozzie Smith fielding questions.

The consistent theme that was coming up, of course was “AI is coming for our jobs.” And yes, there’s some truth to that—AI will replace repetitive tasks and create efficiencies that might disrupt roles.

But here’s the part most people miss, even people in this industry: The real power of AI isn’t in what it takes away—it’s in what it unlocks.

AI is helping companies uncover opportunities that were hidden before. If you think about it, it makes sense. AI isn’t just about automating processes; it’s about augmenting human intelligence in order to:

- Spot patterns no human could process (BTW Jeff Mills company, iMerit Technology, is doing this better than just about anyone out there),

- Identify untapped markets, and

- Predict trends before they become obvious.

This is already happening in some remarkable ways:

✅ Tesla: Turning its fleet into an autonomous data network, using road data to not only improve safety but redefine how we think about mobility and energy. Some people will shout skepticism on this one, but I suspect that it is because it is happening slower than most people want.

✅ Spotify: Leveraging AI to surface emerging music trends and discover new podcast markets, helping creators and listeners connect in ways no one predicted.

✅ Moderna: Using AI to predict mRNA behaviors and accelerate treatments for diseases we haven’t even cracked yet. This is how we get the COVID vaccine out the door so quickly.

There are a ton of startups in this space too, some of whom, like PeopleLens or Leadoff.ai, I've written about already, but there are others like Must Have Ideas Ltd, BenevolentAI, and Orbital Insight are using AI to help identify new opportunities that people would have missed.

This isn’t about “doing things better”—it’s about doing better things.

The companies winning with AI aren’t just automating—they’re asking bold questions:

- What can we now see that was invisible before?

- What new markets, products, or industries can we create?

The future belongs to those who see AI not as a cost-cutter but as a force multiplier.

I’d love to hear your thoughts:

- What companies do you see using AI to uncover hidden opportunities?

- How do you think businesses can better leverage AI for innovation?

Drop your ideas below—I’m all ears. Let’s shape this conversation together. 👇