Martin Jackson — your intelligent automation partner

Boris Johnson’s AI Confession Should Terrify Every SME Owner

Martin Jackson
Martin Jackson

The Admission That Made My Blood Run Cold

Person standing among colourful geometric shapes with spikes, in a retro 1960s pop art style. Text reads: Blind Navigation.

Right, so Boris Johnson just admitted he uses ChatGPT to write his books. Fair enough – we’ve all been there, haven’t we? But here’s the bit that should make every business owner’s arse clench: he doesn’t actually understand how it works.

The bloke’s out there banging on about how AI will slash government costs, sort out social care, and basically save the world. Meanwhile, he’s got about as much clue how it actually functions as I do about quantum physics.

Sound familiar?

Every CEO Is Doing This Right Now

Here’s the thing – Johnson isn’t some weird outlier. He’s basically every business leader I meet these days. They’ve heard AI can cut costs and boost efficiency, so they’re diving in headfirst without understanding what they’re actually deploying.

It’s like buying a Ferrari when you can’t drive stick. Sure, it looks impressive in the driveway, but you’re gonna crash it into the first roundabout you encounter.

Why This Approach Is Proper Dangerous

Illustration of radiating geometric shapes, stars, and cubes in red, yellow, and cyan colours against a black, textured vintage backdrop, representing outer space.

When you don’t understand your tech, three things happen – and they’re all bollocks:

First, you’re basically guessing. Johnson talks about AI helping “Mrs Miggins with her pills” – which sounds lovely but tells me he’s got no bloody clue about actual implementation. It’s like saying “the internet will help with stuff” in 1995.

Second, you can’t spot when it goes mental. Remember my first AI system back in 2021? Worked brilliantly for weeks, then decided “email address” meant “favourite pizza topping.” Spent hours figuring out why our CRM was having a complete meltdown. If you don’t understand the system, you can’t fix it when it inevitably goes tits up.

Third, nobody trusts you anymore. Johnson’s got form with dodgy decisions (COVID care homes, anyone?), so when he promises AI will fix everything, people think “yeah, right.” Same happens in business – implement AI without understanding it, watch it fail spectacularly, and your credibility’s shot.

The Reality Check Every SME Needs

While the government’s throwing billions at AI “growth zones” and fancy regulatory frameworks, most SMEs can’t even automate their bloody invoicing properly.

Here’s what you need to ask yourself before jumping on the AI bandwagon:

  • Do you actually understand what your AI system does? Not the marketing fluff – the real mechanics and limitations.
  • Have you identified specific processes that need fixing? “Cut costs” isn’t a strategy, it’s wishful thinking.
  • What happens when it breaks? Because it will. Trust me on this one.

The Bottom Line

Abstract geometric shards in blue, red, yellow, orange, purple, and black, shattering in a pop art style with the text 'The Ticking Time Bomb'.

I’ve been building AI systems since 2021 – back when they were proper mental and would randomly decide your customer database was a recipe collection. The difference between success and expensive failure isn’t the technology itself.

It’s understanding what you’re actually doing with it.

Boris Johnson’s enthusiasm without understanding is exactly what’s happening in boardrooms across the UK right now. Don’t be that CEO. Don’t be Boris.

Get the knowledge first. Then get the tech.

Tags: , , , ,

Latest Posts:

AI Disclaimer: Because Apparently We Need One Now

Right, let’s get this out of the way before someone has a proper meltdown…

Yes, I use AI. Shocking, I know. An AI automation specialist using AI – it’s almost like a chef using knives or a plumber using spanners. Mental, isn’t it?

Here’s the thing – I’ve never pretended to be Picasso. I can barely draw a decent stick figure, and my artistic education peaked at colouring inside the lines (which I was rubbish at). So when it comes to creating visuals or researching content, AI is bloody brilliant at doing the heavy lifting.

But here’s what AI can’t do – it can’t replicate 30+ years of getting my hands dirty in real businesses. It can’t copy the scars from watching “simple integrations” turn into six-month nightmares. And it definitely can’t swear like a proper Brit who’s spent decades dealing with systems that mysteriously decide important data fields mean something completely different.

The EU’s Having a Field Day (Naturally)

Speaking of overreactions, the EU’s now mandating AI content labels because apparently they’d regulate the opening of a crisp packet if they could. Their new AI Act requires everything to be marked, watermarked, and probably stamped in triplicate.

Meanwhile, the UK’s taking a more sensible approach – “use your judgement, don’t be a pillock about it.” Refreshing, really.

But here’s the kicker: research shows that slapping “AI MADE THIS” labels on everything actually makes people trust it less – even when the content is identical quality. It’s like putting a “CONTAINS CHEMICALS” sticker on water. Technically true, completely mental.

Remember When Social Media Was “Just a Fad”?

This whole AI panic reminds me of those highly respected business experts who dismissed social media as a passing trend back in 2006. You know the ones – sitting in boardrooms saying “Facebook is just for university kids” while their junior staff begged them to pay attention.

Those same companies spent years trying to catch up after realizing they’d missed the boat entirely. By the time they finally joined Facebook in 2011, their competitors had built communities, refined strategies, and owned the conversation.

Here’s the scary bit: AI adoption is happening three times faster than social media did. We’re already seeing the same pattern – 5% of companies are crushing it with AI while 95% are still “evaluating options” and “waiting to see how it develops.”

Guess which group my clients want to be in?

My Process is Simple:

  1. AI helps me research and draft the boring bits.
  2. I add the personality, experience, and occasional profanity.
  3. I make sure it actually makes sense for real businesses.
  4. I take full responsibility for everything published.

The Reality Check

To those clutching their pearls about AI assistance: get over it. We’re not going back to typewriters and encyclopaedias. The future belongs to people who embrace tools that make them more effective, not those hiding behind “authentic struggle.”

Besides, if you think AI came up with my stories about early automation systems going mental and mixing up data fields… well, you’ve clearly never worked with AI long enough to know it’s nowhere near that creative (or sweary).

TLDR: AI helps, humans create, everyone wins. Now can we get back to actually helping businesses instead of arguing about tools?

P.S. – If you’re still bothered by this, you’re probably not my target audience anyway. My clients care about results, not whether I used a calculator or did the maths by hand. And they definitely don’t need the EU telling them how to label their content like it’s a tin of beans.

P.P.S. – Those “experts” who missed social media? They’re probably the same ones telling you to “wait and see” with AI. How’d that work out last time?

All insights are based on publicly available information and my 30+ years of business technology experience, including building AI systems since 2021. This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be professional or legal advice.

More from the Journal