Why the AI Revolution Is Still Underhyped?
Eric Schmidt | TED 2025 • April 2025
In 2016, an AI shocked the world’s best Go players with a move no human had ever imagined.
For Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO), that moment wasn’t just a clever game. It was the start of the real AI revolution.
And here’s the kicker: while the rest of the world can’t stop talking about AI, Schmidt believes it’s still underhyped.
So, what are business leaders missing?
AI Doesn’t Just Imitate. It Invents
When AlphaGo invented a move in a 2,500-year-old game, it proved AI could create solutions humans hadn’t seen before.
Why it matters to you? AI in business isn’t just about automating email or summarizing notes. It can spot patterns and strategies in your market that no team could ever detect alone.
From Chatbots to Strategy
Most of us woke up to AI when ChatGPT started writing like a human. Impressive, but Schmidt says the bigger leap is reinforcement learning—AI systems that plan, test, and refine strategies.
Think about it: If AI can plan 10 moves ahead in Go, it can also plan your marketing funnel, sales outreach, or product roadmap.
The Future Is Agentic Systems
Schmidt envisions businesses run by swarms of specialized AI agents:
one for sales
one for finance
one for operations
All working together, talking to each other in plain English.
Your first step: Start small. Test an AI sales bot, or automate your meeting notes. The real transformation comes from linking these pieces together.
Why Leaders Should Act Now
AI isn’t just another tech trend. Economists predict a 30% productivity boost per year as AI scales. That’s beyond anything in human history.
Translation, companies that adopt AI early won’t just get ahead—they’ll create a gap competitors can’t close..
Final Thoughts
The Go move in 2016 was quiet. Most people missed it.
Don’t miss the next one.
Next step: Curious where to start with AI in your business? Book a free 30-minute consult with PromptLab, and we’ll help you map out your first big win.
