Can AI Make Decisions for You? Why Business Is Still a Human Game
AI won’t fix your decision-making skills. It will expose them.
Introduction: The Myth of AI as Decision-Maker
“Hey ChatGPT, what should I do today?”
It sounds like a simple question. But behind it sits a much deeper one that every founder, entrepreneur, executive, and manager needs to ask:
Can AI make decisions for me?
There’s an elephant in the room. Everyone’s thinking it. Few are saying it out loud.
Let’s talk about it.
The Illusion of Outsourcing Decisions
We live in a world that celebrates automation. Delegation. Optimization. Tools that take things off our plate.
So it’s no surprise that when AI tools became mainstream, people started asking:
“Can AI make this decision for me?”
The short answer?
Yes — but only if you don’t care about the outcome.
The truth is quite simple:
• AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on.
• It lacks your values, context, and intuition.
• It’s not responsible for the consequences of your choices.
Would you outsource your company’s strategy to an algorithm you don’t understand? Would you let a machine pick your business partner or career move?
Then why let it decide your day?
The Real Problem Isn’t AI. It’s Us.
Most people haven’t been taught how to make decisions.
• They avoid uncertainty.
• They overanalyze.
• They ask for input, then ignore it.
• They confuse motion with progress.
And when they finally get their hands on AI?
They expect it to magically make the hard calls for them. But AI doesn’t fix poor decision-making skills.
It exposes them.
Struggling with critical thinking? Lacking confidence? Avoiding accountability?
AI will only highlight those gaps.
My AI-Driven Day
Let’s get personal for a second. When I asked ChatGPT, “What should I do today?” — here’s what it gave me:
Tackle that one thing you’ve been avoiding.
Post something bold on LinkedIn.
Go analog — no screens for 2 hours.
I went with No. 2, obviously. You’re reading the result :)
But here’s the point: AI can be a spark. A thought partner. A generator of ideas.
What it can’t be is a substitute for your own values, judgment, and priorities.
Founders and Decision Paralysis
If you’re building something, you’re making 1,000 decisions a day.
Where to focus. Who to hire. What to launch. What to kill.
And when the stakes are high, many founders freeze.
They either:
• Push the decision onto others (including AI), or
• Get stuck in loops of endless analysis.
But leadership means deciding anyway. Even when it’s unclear. Even when it’s hard.
AI can support that process. But it can’t replace your gut, your vision, your responsibility.
Executives Need a Compass, Not a Calculator
As an executive, your job isn’t to count the data points.
It’s to weigh them in the context of goals, values, and timing.
That means:
• Making sense of conflicting signals.
• Balancing short-term trade-offs with long-term goals.
• Knowing when to trust the model — and when to go with instinct.
AI is your calculator. Your compass is still very human.
Managers, Don’t Abdicate On Authority
Managers have started using AI to:
• Write team updates
• Draft performance feedback
• Outline project plans
All good. Until it crosses the line from support to substitution.
When you blindly copy AI output without applying your own judgment? You’re not managing. You’re abdicating.
How to Use AI to Make Better Decisions (Without Losing Your Brain)
Here’s how founders, executives, and managers can use AI without becoming dependent on it:
Use it to surface options — then assess them.
Feed it your own framework — don’t expect it to invent one.
Ask better prompts — decision quality starts with question quality.
Challenge its answers — don’t accept suggestions as god’s voice.
Blend it with your context — your business isn’t generic.
AI is a great input. But the final decision is always yours.
Decision-Making Is a Leadership Skill. Train It.
If you want to lead better? You need to decide better.
That means:
• Practicing decision-making under pressure.
• Reviewing your own decisions — what worked, what didn’t.
• Developing clear frameworks and criteria.
• Learning how to filter advice, data, and noise.
It also means reclaiming your authority. Your voice. Your judgment.
Leadership isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being accountable.
And no algorithm can do that for you.
Check the Change Academy for the specialized decision training.
Conclusion: Keep AI as Your Co-Pilot. Not the Pilot.
AI is an amazing tool. But it’s just that — a tool. Your decision-making? That’s where the human game still matters most.
So ask AI questions. Get ideas. See new angles.
But then:
• Check in with your own priorities.
• Consider your mission.
• Make the call.
Because your business, your life, your leadership — they’re still very human.