Even billionaires need human connections in AI age: Business Network International CEO

Detailed summary

Workforce disruption is giving rise to more solopreneurs, says chief of business referral and networking organisation. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Business Network International CEO Mary Kennedy Thompson says the world could see its first billionaire solopreneur within the next five years.

SINGAPORE – While fears of AI-driven job losses persist, a new perspective on artificial intelligence is gaining ground: Workforce disruption is giving rise to more solo business owners, or solopreneurs, who will need human connections to succeed.

The world could see its first billionaire solopreneur within the next five years, as AI tools take over functions such as accounting, finance, marketing and administration that once required a large organisation.

But however brilliant such a one-person, billion-dollar operator may be, connections will always matter in business, said Mary Kennedy Thompson, chief executive of Business Network International (BNI), the world’s largest business referral and networking organisation.

As AI continues to disrupt the workforce, this generation of solo business owners will need to master networking and find a community they can belong to, Thompson told The Straits Times in an interview.

With the technology becoming more prevalent and powerful, the need for human connections becomes even more critical because people prefer to do business with those they know and trust – and face-to-face interactions build that trust, she said.

Thompson said more firms from AI-related sectors have been increasingly expressing interest in joining the BNI network.

As AI advances and people’s understanding of it improves, she believes BNI can help businesses establish credibility through human connections as AI makes it harder to distinguish genuine capabilities from convincing claims.

“People are going to want proof points, and organisations like BNI that can provide those proof points and the human connection will grow faster.”

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Straits Times Business. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.