AI Won’t Fix Your Culture, It’ll Expose It

Hello again,

I drafted this a couple of weeks ago while I was in Lisbon, attending my first (and probably last) ever Web Summit. It was all AI, pretty much all the time.

The promise seems compelling with every startup pitching an “AI-powered” solution: faster, smarter, frictionless.

But the reality? No impactful or significant change, more like incremental tweaks which change largely nothing. Faster, smarter, frictionless…is that all we want?

Almost no one is asking the question that really matters: What values are these systems and solutions built on - and whose values are they amplifying?

Here’s the truth no one on stage would ever have said: AI doesn’t fix culture, it scales it.

…If your organisation already rewards speed over integrity, AI will double down on it.
…If your team doesn’t feel safe speaking up, AI will quietly learn to silence them faster.
…If your values aren’t operationalised, automation will make that painfully visible.

Slapping AI on top of an already flawed organisational (and likely harmful) culture won’t make you (your leadership) more human, it’ll make your humanity - or lack of it - more visible.

At one of the sessions I attended - “Human vs Machine: Who Owns the Classroom of Tomorrow?” - the panelists argued about whether teachers will be replaced or enhanced by AI. No one asked what kind of values we’re embedding into the next generation of learners, whether with teachers or AI.

And at another talk, “The End of the Org Chart,” there was talk of automation flattening hierarchies. But equality isn’t a feature you can code, it’s a daily choice you make - individually and collectively - in how you show up for yourself and for others. You can’t just do away with hierarchy and expect your organisation to continue to function without a significant amount of reengineering your processes, your policies and how people behave.

That’s why, before you automate, you need to align; and before you plug AI into your workflow, I recommend you plug integrity into your culture.

Why integrity? Because integrity is doing what you say you’re going to do (especially when no-one’s looking). And if you SAY your values are X, then you better be damn sure you’re also DOING X, and not Y!

Over the past 12 months, I’ve helped a number of founders start this journey by defining their values…a crucial first step.

The problem? They’ve stopped there…and as yet, they haven’t:

⭕️ Aligned their frameworks, principles and policies.
⭕️ Redesigned their processes so integrity is built-in.
⭕️ Trained their leadership team to live and model the culture they want.

They’ve SAID. They haven’t DONE. And in the age of AI, integrity - doing what you say you’re going to do - is your ultimate competitive advantage.

If you’re serious about building a values-ready organisation before becoming AI-ready, hit reply with “VALUES READY” and we can talk about how to make that happen for your organisation in 2026.

If you’re deep into budget planning for Q1 2026, consider the cost of not doing what you say you’re going to…because when this occurs internally, it’s evident externally too.

In solidarity and transparency,
Lea
Founder, Mission Equality CIC