- A commentary by Blair Effron, co-founder of Centerview Partners, argues that although AI is booming, humans retain a core advantage: judgment—the ability to discern in ambiguous contexts.
- The author relates the experience of medieval law, where 14th-century English judges had to weigh conflicting evidence themselves, to illustrate the value of thinking where there are no ready-made answers.
- AI is becoming a central topic in corporate boardrooms; about half of S&P 500 companies mentioned AI in their most recent earnings calls.
- However, the most critical business decisions are not just about data processing or pattern recognition, but about defining corporate identity, culture, risk tolerance, and the path forward when the future is unclear.
- Judgment is described as the capacity to balance competing values, accept trade-offs, and choose the optimal course when there is no single “right” answer.
- In an asset sale, AI analysis recommended a mathematically optimal option, but human judgment chose a different direction that was better aligned with the long-term mission.
- Another example showed AI failing to account for personal relationships between the leaders of two companies, leading to undervaluation and the initial failure of a deal.
- AI is strong at pattern recognition, data synthesis, and code generation, but humans are still needed to evaluate reliability, meaning, and practical consequences of the results.
- The author suggests that in the era of generative AI, the sustainable advantage is not narrow specialization but a broad knowledge base and the ability for interdisciplinary synthesis.
- Employers are increasingly looking for “generalists with judgment”: independent, flexible, willing to take responsibility, and knowing how to use AI as a tool, not a crutch.
📌 Although AI is becoming smarter and more common in business, it cannot replace human judgment in ambiguous contexts. Strategic decisions require weighing values, context, and human factors—things that cannot be automated. In the era of generative AI, the sustainable advantage is not narrow specialization but a broad knowledge base and the ability for interdisciplinary synthesis. Employers are increasingly looking for “generalists with judgment”: independent, flexible, willing to take responsibility, and knowing how to use AI as a tool, not a crutch.
