Harvard Business School professor Rem Koning shares research and insights on how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship. A study on ChatGPT delivered via WhatsApp to Kenyan small business owners found that struggling entrepreneurs saw a 10% decline in profits, while high performers improved—highlighting that AI amplifies existing judgment rather than equalizing outcomes. Koning introduces the concept of 'allocating intelligence' as the new competitive edge: knowing which tasks to assign to which AI models versus humans. He argues founders should move beyond chatbots toward agentic AI that takes actions autonomously, embed AI into products rather than just workflows, and find the minimal AI intervention that unlocks maximum value. Research from an INSEAD AI founder sprint with 500+ global entrepreneurs showed AI-native training led to ~20% more weekly output and reduced capital requirements by $250K. Anthropic's education lead Drew Bent adds that learners need to give AI more complex problems and anticipates a future where AI handles high-level strategy while delegating human-taste tasks to people.
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