If you’ve held an office of any description over the past couple of years, chances are you’ve spent a lot of time discussing the potential and threats offered by artificial intelligence (AI). More accurately, you’ve probably spent a lot of time talking about whether large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT will help create a better world or simply take jobs and leave us all worse off than before.
The thing is, those extremes of the argument miss something important: the potential for AI and LLMs to act as entrepreneurial equalisers. In other words, even if you do worry about how the large companies currently dominate the AI sector, you can still see it as an enabler of freedom and business growth.
That’s because AI democratises access to information and tools, allowing anyone determined enough to build, scale and succeed to be able to do so. And in a country with levels of unequal funding, opportunity, and skills as high as South Africa’s, that’s a potential game changer.
AI as an equaliser
Look, being an entrepreneur is difficult for even the most privileged among us. I’ve seen bright, confident people who went to the best schools and universities experience the same levels of doubt that all of us do as entrepreneurs. Now, imagine how much worse things are if you have an entrepreneurial dream but have none of those advantages.
You don’t have the usual friends, family and funders to lean on for the funding that is so crucial to many early-stage entrepreneurs. You’re even less likely to have access to angel investors and venture capitalists, much less know how to approach them. And if you know any developers, designers or salespeople, you probably can’t afford them.
Now, some entrepreneurs learn those skills on their own. Many entrepreneurs launching an ecommerce offering, for instance, have had to learn about deep etching (the process of removing product images from backgrounds) through hours of long, hard work.
AI changes all that, simply by making access to knowledge, resources and insights less exclusive. Suddenly, if you need some deep-etching done, you can simply prompt it in an LLM. The same goes for getting copy written up or polishing an investor or sales deck. Heck, for someone who grew up speaking English as a second language, it may even mean a VC or accelerator opening their email and giving them a chance, rather than simply transferring it to their junk folder.
AI breaks down those barriers, making it possible for entrepreneurs and enterprises in South Africa to compete globally.
From information to empowerment
But that’s just the start. With a little more expertise, entrepreneurs can start accessing and using AI tools that give them access to data, decision-making tools and automation.
So, for example, you can get market insights at a fraction of the traditional cost, allowing you to better decide whether or not to launch a new product line or start servicing a new geographical area. Similarly, SMEs and startups could automate business operations like invoices, onboarding of new customers, and supply chain management.
AI might not allow SMEs and startups to compete on a fully equal footing with massively resourced enterprises, but it certainly levels the odds.
Freedom’s important, support equally so
Ultimately, AI offers “freedom to build” without legacy costs. Anyone with the drive to build a business can now access the tools to do so. But it can’t simply be a matter of putting AI products out into the market and hoping that it’ll result in a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Unlocking that freedom also requires support. It can’t just come in the shape of tools either. It must also include equity, expertise, and an ecosystem. As a venture builder, it’s something we feel is incredibly important and is why we’re walking the talk by enabling businesses to leverage AI in practical, sustainable ways.
Forget fear, embrace the future
As with any new technology, it’s all too easy to get caught up in the arguments around the dangers of AI. But in doing so, we miss its potential to help build a new generation of entrepreneurs at a time when South Africa needs it most.
Written by Alex de Bruyn, CEO, LetsCreate