Let’s bust a myth: AI isn’t just about ditching tasks, it’s about supercharging what people can do at work. In this eye-opener, Joshua Wöhle breaks down why augmentation, not automation, is where the real magic happens, and how it’s reshaping productivity, potential and even what your job might look like
Many organisations are approaching AI with a fundamental misunderstanding. I’m seeing plenty of enthusiasm for AI adoption, but there’s a concerning pattern: companies are focusing on building systems that automate and remove tasks rather than equipping their workforce with tools that enhance capabilities.
We’re not talking about doing the same work more efficiently; it’s about achieving outcomes that weren’t previously possible
When technology teams create automated processes that eliminate human involvement, they’re missing the transformative potential of AI. This mindset difference separates organisations that treat AI as merely a cost-cutting tool from those experiencing genuine productivity breakthroughs.
Before generative AI, technology primarily focused on automation – repeating structured actions to produce predictable outcomes. For three decades, we’ve been conditioned to think about technology in terms of task replacement. Generative AI has fundamentally changed this equation, and our strategic thinking needs to catch up.
The distinction that unlocks 10 times more value
Let me be crystal clear about what’s at stake. Automation replaces existing tasks and, depending on your level of pessimism, eliminates jobs. Augmentation enhances human capabilities and creates new value. It goes beyond semantics. It’s the difference between job losses and productivity gains.
The evidence is compelling. A study just released by Harvard’s Digital Data Design Institute confirms exactly what I’ve witnessed in thousands of our own training sessions with organisations worldwide. In their randomised controlled trial with 776 P&G professionals, one finding stood out dramatically: a single person with AI matched the performance of entire teams without AI.
But the real value comes with augmentation at scale. In the same study, teams using AI didn’t just work 12 to 16% faster – they were significantly more likely to produce breakthrough solutions ranking in the top 10% of quality. We’re not talking about doing the same work more efficiently; instead it’s about achieving outcomes that weren’t previously possible.
Companies fixated on automation ask: “How can AI help us cut costs?” Companies embracing augmentation ask: “How can AI help us create value that was impossible before?” The latter approach doesn’t just preserve jobs – it transforms them into something far more valuable.
From single-player to multiplayer productivity
Most work until now started in what I’d call ‘single-player mode’ – you with your brain and a sheet of paper. Only for some tasks (or at some point) did it make sense to involve someone else, as their time is also valuable.
That barrier to entry is now zero. There’s no cognitive task that cannot start with (and benefit from) additional input from AI. When you combine this with AI’s superpowers like structuring unstructured data, which shortcuts many starting points for projects, the results become dramatic.
We see this transformation every single day at Mindstone. We’ve had people quit their jobs to start businesses after our programme, as they realised they could finally build, receive promotions, and clear years of backlog in weeks. Non-technical people who were previously less inclined toward technology are discovering they can enhance their work in ways they never imagined.
Quality increase is the real metric
The biggest threat isn’t AI itself – it’s a situation where everyone is better off, but one part of society becomes 10 times better off than others. This is why we focus 30 to 40% of our training on helping people use the tools and 60 to 70% on the necessary mindset shifts.
If you’re a business leader looking to avoid this disparity, I offer you two very clear pieces of advice. First, help your employees understand the tools they are using. Fire is only useful if you know how to cook with it. Secondly, create environments where they force themselves to use these tools. Nurture. Challenge. The cost of inaction is far higher than the cost of adoption.
And if you’re driven by KPIs? Quality increase of work – however your company measures that (revenue increase, employee happiness, etc) – should be the primary metric for AI implementation success. Not how many tasks you’ve automated away.
The shocking reality is that we’re still at the stage where most people don’t know what they don’t know. Many think they’re ‘good’ at AI because they’ve automated a few tasks, while completely missing the transformative potential of augmentation. The gulf between these two approaches – and between those who have crossed this chasm and those who haven’t – grows wider daily.
Those who understand the difference aren’t just doing the same jobs faster; they’re reinventing what’s possible. So, I ask you: are you automating tasks, or are you augmenting human potential?
Joshua Wöhle is CEO and Co-founder of Mindstone
