AI Will Save Time. But Can It Save Judgment?

We once had a candidate apply for a senior leadership role.
On paper, they were perfect.
The AI resume screener flagged them as a 9.7 out of 10 match.
They’d been at all the right companies, used all the right words—“cross-functional,” “growth hacking,” “synergized.” (Basically, a LinkedIn bingo card.)

But during the interview, something felt… off.
Their answers were polished but strangely vague.
They kept dodging specifics, and at one point referred to a team of “17.5 people,” which I still haven’t figured out.

The AI saved us time by surfacing that resume.
But it couldn’t make the call. That required judgment.

Speed Is Great, Until It’s Not

Let’s be honest: AI is amazing at speed.
It drafts emails, predicts churn, sorts data faster than your top analyst after three espressos.

But judgment?
That quiet pause before a hard decision?
That gut feel that something’s not quite right even if the numbers say otherwise?

Yeah, AI’s not there yet.
And I’m not sure we want it to be.

The Risk of Automating the Wrong Things

Here’s where companies go wrong:
They don’t just automate tasks—they start automating thinking.

A few examples I’ve seen (and facepalmed at):

• Letting AI shortlist culture-fit candidates based on email tone (because sarcasm = team player?)
• Using chatbots to resolve escalated customer complaints (nothing builds trust like talking to an overconfident FAQ)
• Optimizing supply chain decisions without consulting… the supply chain team

The irony? These tools save time in the short run and often waste it in the long run.

Judgment Can’t Be A/B Tested

Some decisions aren’t about data.
They’re about alignment, values, timing, emotion.
You don’t A/B test whether to exit a market. Or who to promote. Or when to let a product quietly die.

That’s leadership.
That’s intuition shaped by years of bad calls, unexpected wins, and coffee-stained whiteboards.

And guess what?
The best leaders I’ve met aren’t the fastest decision-makers.
They’re the ones who know when to pause.

Final Thought

AI will help us move faster, yes.
But judgment is knowing when not to rush.
When to ask the second question.
When to overrule the dashboard.
When to look someone in the eye and say, “Let’s wait.”

So yes—let’s save time.
Let’s automate the boring stuff.
But let’s never outsource the part of leadership that knows when to slow down.

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Regards,
Rupesh

P.S.
If you’re building tools that move fast and think slow—reach out. We’re looking for builders who know that speed is nothing without direction.