Why businesses must stop fearing AI’s potential

In the past year, there’s been a 66 per cent increase in AI-related content on LinkedIn – although I think it feels like much more. The usual job chatter has been replaced by a deluge of new terms – GEO, LLMs… one could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed or more than a little clueless; like this new wave of technology is too much to understand, let alone put into practice.

But the truth is, behind every confident assertion lies a heap of guesswork. That’s because everything is moving far too fast for anyone to truly understand how AI is reshaping the world or transforming business in the long-term. So, we’re all trying to get to grips with something that’s still taking form. The truth is that no-one has been out-smarted or out-paced…yet.

However, that’s no excuse to stand still. Recently, YouGov polled decision-makers of businesses on their approach to AI and found only a third of SMEs use AI-powered tools, with the majority applying them cautiously, focusing on automation of admin. Whilst that’s a decent start, it’s ultimately a pretty narrow utilisation of something that has the ability to unlock an essential element of entrepreneurship. Creativity.

Use AI as a devil’s advocate for human thinking, says Pam Scobbie

The same survey revealed that 60 per cent of leaders think bringing AI into the workplace will dull the spark of their employees, which is why they keep it at arm’s length. But as a creative person who has been using AI for years, I’m convinced of the opposite. There’s a huge opportunity for leaders to use AI to drive innovation and growth. It has the capacity to pressure-test our individual thinking through filters we don’t naturally hold. It can throw light on assumptions and find our blind spots, helping us to reimagine what’s possible.

Despite my confidence, I think it’s right to be defensive against AI as a stand-alone problem-solver. Wharton University asked a variety of AI models to invent a toy using a fan and a brick. Nearly all suggestions clustered around the same concept, with several even naming theirs the same thing. By contrast, a human-only group that was asked the same question generated entirely unique ideas. Overall, just 6 per cent of AI-generated ideas were considered unique, compared with 100 per cent in the human group.

Where it gets most interesting though is what happens when you bring both together, using AI as a devil’s advocate for human thinking. Never passive reliance on tech for imagination’s sake but as a partner to push, stretch and compare ideas by acting as a provocateur, spotting patterns, accelerating research and giving feedback to further reflect on.

AI fluency doesn’t equate to originality, but it can provide constructive criticism at speed. Here are five actionable ways companies can collaborate with AI to stand out:

Pam Scobbie's John Doe works with Guinness, IRN-BRU, Bumble, Instagram and more

Draft an AI policy: Don’t just cover data use and ethics. Define a clear “point-of-view” on where AI should be used and where human intuition must lead.

Prioritise critical thinking: Don’t just train your team on how to “prompt” a tool. Invest in critical thinking skills. Never accept AI’s first answer or rely on default outputs; always check whether recommendations are accurate, relevant but most importantly, interesting.

Use AI as a provocateur: Don’t rely on a single model. Play them against each other. Tell Claude what Perplexity said about your strategy and ask where it disagrees.

Enforce the human veto: Establish a golden rule, nothing goes into the world without human refinement. AI provides the clay; people must provide the sculpture.

Empower your pioneers: Pinpoint the “AI-savvy” members of your team and get them to regularly trial emerging tech. Have them report back to your SLT to ensure you can evolve as fast as the tech does.

That’s my appeal to Scottish businesses: stop fearing AI’s potential; put a policy in place that creates a proactive role for AI in your process.

This strategic shift is exactly what the industry is looking for. The Marketing Society Scotland has just launched a brand-new category for the Star Awards: AI, Automation & Emerging Tech. It marks the first time a dedicated digital innovation award has been featured, signalling a permanent shift in our creative landscape.

If you have done even a small amount of pioneering work in AI, we want to hear from you. These five steps are precisely what you need to transform a "cool tool” into an award-winning strategy. We aren’t looking for people who are just using AI; we want to celebrate those who are leading with it.

The world is changing, and there is a unique advantage to getting on board now. Stop fearing that the spark will go out. Put your policy in place, build those habits of critical evaluation, and use AI to both make things – and make things better.

Pam Scobbie runs John Doe, a marketing agency based in Glasgow and London