The last thing the machines can’t copy

May 31, 2026 Features / Columnists, News

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By Karen Abrams, EdD, MBA, AA

(Kaieteur News) – There is a quiet assumption running through the excitement about artificial intelligence: that as the machines get better, the human element matters less. The opposite is closer to the truth.

As AI commoditises the technical layer of almost everything, the code, the copy, the design, the marketing materials, cognitive knowledge and even the baseline competence that once separated good firms from bad ones, the things AI cannot easily replicate become the scarce and defensible sources of value; trust, reputation, and relationships. The confidence people have in the name attached to a product or service.

When any competitor can generate the same website, the same advertisements, the same business plans, and the same serviceable products using the same AI tools, the product itself stops being the differentiator. What remains is whether customers believe you. That is the one thing no model can manufacture on your behalf.

For Guyanese businesses, this should be encouraging news. But there is an obvious objection, and it deserves a direct answer. In a country where many households struggle financially, does price not dominate everything? Does talk of brands, trust, and reputation not sound like advice imported from richer countries?  It is a fair challenge.

For the poorest households purchasing basic necessities, price will remain decisive until incomes rise. No amount of branding changes that reality. Any business strategy that ignores it will fail.  But that is only part of the story.

The first complication is that poor consumers are often more sensitive to risk than wealthier consumers. A wealthy customer who makes a bad purchase is inconvenienced. A poor customer may lose money that cannot easily be replaced. This changes how purchasing decisions are made.

The shopkeeper who consistently sells quality products, the mechanic who fixes a problem properly the first time, or the contractor who completes a job on schedule creates value beyond the product itself. They reduce risk. Over time that reliability becomes trust, and trust becomes loyalty. This is backed by theory but we also see it every day in Guyana.

Education provides a useful example. Guyana offers free public education. Yet many parents sacrifice significantly to send their children to private schools, hire private tutors, or pay for after-school programmes. The decision is rarely about status. Most parents are making a calculation about outcomes. They believe certain institutions will provide greater attention, more consistency, better discipline, stronger academic support, or a greater chance of success for their children.

The same pattern exists in technology education. Government agencies, non-profits, and private organizations frequently offer free workshops and training opportunities. Yet parents continue to pay for programmes they trust. They are not simply choosing the free option because it is free. They are evaluating quality, consistency, culture, accountability, and results.

Parents often choose paid programs from organizations such as STEMGuyana not because they are unaware of free alternatives, but because they believe the programme has demonstrated value over time. They trust the brand. They trust the outcomes. They trust the people behind it and that trust is an economic asset.

The second complication is that the poor often pay more anyway. Economists have long documented what is known as the poverty premium, the hidden costs associated with having fewer resources. Smaller purchases often cost more per unit. Access to credit is more expensive. Reliable transportation may cost more. Limited choices frequently increase rather than decrease costs.  Price sensitivity, therefore, is often a condition imposed on consumers rather than a simple preference they hold.

The third complication is particularly relevant to Guyana.  Many people assume that price dominates because consumers care only about cost. In reality, price tends to dominate where competition is weak. When consumers have limited options, they focus on price because there is little else available to compare.  In genuinely competitive markets, prices tend to converge. Once that happens, service, responsiveness, trustworthiness, and reputation become increasingly important.

This observation becomes especially significant in the age of artificial intelligence.  AI is rapidly reducing the cost of creating products and services. The small entrepreneur who could never afford a marketing department can now create professional marketing materials. The small business that could not afford software developers can now build tools and websites with assistance from AI. The barriers to entry that once protected larger firms are beginning to fall.

This is good news for small businesses. But it also means that technical competence will become less valuable as a differentiator because everyone will have access to similar capabilities.  The local accounting firm can use AI. The new entrepreneur can use AI. The multinational corporation can use AI. The technology itself becomes widely available. What remains scarce is trust.

In many ways, Guyana has always operated on trust. Long before online reviews and digital ratings, business moved through family networks, church communities, workplaces, and personal recommendations. A contractor’s next project came from a previous customer. A parent selected a tutor because another parent recommended one. A small business survived because people trusted its owner.

Artificial intelligence cannot easily replicate years of accumulated reputation. It cannot manufacture credibility earned through consistent performance. It cannot create genuine relationships within communities. If anything, AI makes trust more important.

When everyone can generate professional-looking websites, polished advertisements, convincing presentations, and sophisticated customer communications, distinguishing between genuine quality and superficial appearance becomes harder. Consumers will increasingly rely on signals of trust to guide decisions.

The businesses that thrive in the next decade may not be those with the most advanced technology. They may be those that combine technology with reliability, responsiveness, integrity, and a reputation that has been earned over years rather than generated in seconds.

The question AI quietly forces on Guyanese businesses is not whether they can adopt the technology. Most eventually will. The more important question is whether they have built the trust that technology cannot replace. Because as artificial intelligence makes competence abundant, trust may become the most valuable asset a business possesses. And unlike software, it cannot be downloaded.

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• AI, Artificial intelligence, Karen Abrams, machines

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