AI Will Never Be An Innovator, That’s Peoples’ Jobs

InnovationEnterprise TechAI Will Never Be An Innovator, That’s Peoples’ JobsByJoe McKendrick,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joe McKendrick covers how technology moves markets and careersFollow AuthorMay 29, 2026, 01:02pm EDTAI has its limitsgettyI recently had an opportunity to serve as judge looking at several innovative startups, and was impressed with how these entrepreneurs are spinning up new businesses with artificial intelligence. While some had developed products to better manage AI and AI agents, a couple had broader uses. Gustav Hugod, head of sales and user experience at Atech, for example, demonstrated his company’s kit that included some small hardware components that enabled users to design prototypes of machines or systems – such as robots or weather stations – with verbal prompts at the front end. Esther Sauri, marketing director at another startup called Gataca, promoted a mobile interface that accelerated and expanded the range of digital wallets to include documents as various as passports, driver’s licenses, and even college transcripts. Gataca is positioning its offerings to capitalize on the EU’s upcoming mandate on making documents available on digital wallets.What’s the secret to succeeding these days as a tech-driven company? In one famous and timeless give-and-take, Steve Jobs said it best: “Start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and figure out where you’re going to try to sell it.”The two companies mentioned above are examples of looking at what customers are seeking, and working backwards to build technology to meet those needs. Remember, you can hand the latest, most sophisticated film-making equipment to someone – infinite film-making power – but that’s not going to make them the next Steven Spielberg. It takes that extra human factor, the sense of what people want and value, to deliver. AI isn’t the end-all, b...