Stop Asking for Faster Horses and Buckle-up for AI Acceleration

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Allegedly this was said by pioneering car-manufacturer Henry Ford.

So why are we still redesigning saddles in the age of AI and still asking for faster horses in a world of self-driving systems?

AI isn’t just another tool it’s a co-worker plus cultural disruptor. But too many organisations are still bolting AI onto old workflows like headlights on a cart. While boards obsess over return-to-office rotas AI is quietly reinventing the entire terrain of work. This isn’t a productivity patch. It’s an existential rewrite.

Like early motorists navigating muddy roads, we’re in the messy middle between what was and what’s coming. The car industry didn’t just replace the horse , it reinvented infrastructure, cities, behaviours and skills.

Above all, let’s not forget Ford may not have given people faster horses, however he didn’t put reins on people’s desire for faster transportation.

AI is our modern Model T moment and we’re in the transitional wreckage between what we know and what we haven’t yet dared to imagine.

· This isn’t just about tools, it’s about systemic transformation.

· This isn’t just about “how can AI help us work better?” But evolving our thinking to “what is work when machines will do more than assist?”

This is not just about upskilling for yesterday’s jobs; but reshaping for tomorrow’s skillsets and that means education has to be fit for purpose to meet those needs.

This is about recognising that what we do must change and if you’re still designing strategies for the pre-engine era, you’re not driving into the future. You’re just building stables on the edge of a cliff.

Time to stop asking for faster horses and buckle-up for acceleration in that AI Ford Model T!