There’s been a lot of talk lately about the “scariest chart in the world” — the one showing job openings dropping 30% since ChatGPT launched, while the stock market shot up 70%. It’s an easy headline: “AI is destroying jobs and enriching investors.” But that’s not the real story.
In my view, what’s happening right now isn’t job destruction. It’s economic reconstruction.
We’ve spent decades building a business world full of red tape, paperwork, and gatekeeping. CRA filings, WSIB registration, safety audits, payroll systems, HR checklists — the list goes on. For years, only those with deep pockets or corporate infrastructure could manage it all. But now? The tools of big business have landed in the hands of small entrepreneurs.
Artificial intelligence isn’t replacing people — it’s replacing paperwork.
You don’t need an accounting department when AI can reconcile your books. You don’t need a marketing firm when AI can help you script, design, and publish. You don’t even need to know how to code — you just need to know what you want to build.
This is the real economic revolution: small business is being rearmed. The baker, the tradesperson, the consultant, the creator — all can now operate with the same power and precision as large corporations.
When I teach entrepreneurship and sales, I tell my students that the art of business hasn’t changed — only the tools have. The fundamentals still matter: curiosity, persistence, and knowing how to sell. But for the first time in history, the barriers between ideas and execution are almost gone.
AI is the great equalizer.
So while the headlines focus on job losses and market charts, I see something far more exciting: a new era of small business, powered by accessible intelligence, ready to rebuild the middle of the economy.
And this is just the beginning. I’ll be expanding on this topic — in blogs, lectures, and yes, eventually in a book — because the next big business boom isn’t about machines replacing people. It’s about people finally having the machines to build freely again.