Forget the Experiments: AI Demands Leadership, Not More Side Projects

AI isn’t lacking in hype – or pilot projects. What’s missing is leadership. Until executives take charge, AI will remain a tool for marginal gains rather than meaningful transformation.

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AI is everywhere – at least in theory. But most of what we see are side experiments, small savings projects, and tactical prototypes. According to MIT Media Lab’s Project NANDA, a staggering 95% of investments in generative AI have delivered no measurable business value. That headline alone is enough to fuel the growing skepticism.

It all feels eerily familiar.

Back in the 2010s, we saw the same pattern with digital transformation. “Disruption” became the religion of the day. Everyone used the word – for everything from launching a product line to tweaking a marketing plan. The result? Wrong diagnoses. Wrong tools.

We’re repeating the cycle with AI. As Nathan Furr and Andrew Shipilov write in Harvard Business Review, we’re trapped in the “experimentation fallacy” – letting 10,000 flowers bloom without any connection to core business priorities.

Most AI projects today happen in marketing departments. Why? Because it's easy. The wins are quick, visible, and easy to quantify. But also, let’s be honest – cosmetic. The real return lies in the back end: in finance, supply chains, and deep operational processes. But those projects are heavier, messier, and require executive mandate. So they’re rarely picked.

Meanwhile, in Denmark and elsewhere, we’ve reduced AI to a cost-cutting tool. More emails in less time. Cheaper campaigns. Fewer hours in accounting. It’s legitimate – but it’s also uninspired.

The real question is not what AI can help us save. It’s what it can help us achieve.

If AI frees up 15% of your workforce’s time, what will you do with that time? Speed up the hamster wheel? Or create more space for creativity, insight, and innovation?

This is where leadership matters.

Without strategic direction, AI will remain a departmental toy. With it, it can become a catalyst for real transformation. Not by shrinking the organization – but by expanding it. Making it more creative, more human, more valuable.

The true promise of AI isn’t about making us smaller. It’s about helping us grow. Not about cutting to the bone – but about freeing up energy for what really matters.

So, what should leaders actually do?

First, set a clear direction.
AI is not a plug-in. It’s a strategic driver – on par with past industrial and digital revolutions. That means defining a vision: how will AI enhance your core value creation? Not just cut costs – but make your organisation better at what it already does, or open up entirely new markets.

Second, choose a few big bets.
The temptation to run a hundred pilots is real – but misleading. Only large-scale, high-impact projects will move the needle. Leaders must have the courage to say no to 95% of the ideas – and double down on the few that truly matter.

Third, decide upfront how to reinvest freed resources.
There’s no point saving time if that time just disappears into new meetings or longer email chains. The best organisations allocate that time deliberately – to creativity, innovation, customer insights, or deeper collaboration.

Only then can AI become more than another deck in a strategy PowerPoint.

Only then can we shift from cost-cutting to value creation – from small experiments to big transformation. AI won’t make us less human. But if we lead it right, it might just make us more.