AI is increasing both capacity and speed across organisations. But real business value is not created through more tools and faster decisions alone. It comes from direction, human judgement, and the ability to connect technology, business, and people.
– The organisations that succeed in the long term are not necessarily the ones that move fastest at the start, says Hanna Lagerholm, Partner at Netlight.
AI has quickly become a strategic priority across both the private and public sectors. But according to Hanna Lagerholm, who works with digital transformation at Netlight Consulting, many organisations risk focusing too much on speed and too little on direction.
– There is a strong push for speed. Many companies are afraid of being left behind and are launching AI initiatives across their organisations. But starting is easy and stopping is difficult, especially when it’s unclear where these experiments are supposed to lead. That is a clear sign of a lack of judgement, she says.
For AI to create long-term value, the technology must be connected to business goals, organisational needs, and human judgement. It is not simply about adopting new tools. It is about understanding which decisions need to improve and what AI is actually meant to achieve.
– AI amplifies what already exists. If the direction is wrong, things can go wrong faster, and at a greater cost, she says.
According to Hanna Lagerholm, this makes leadership more important than ever. Leaders need to separate signal from noise, understand their own biases, and create structures for accountability, risk management, and ownership.
— Competence is not just about knowing how to use a tool. What matters is understanding what the technology should achieve, how it supports the business, and the role it should play in the organisation, she says.
As more decisions are informed by AI, the question of human accountability becomes increasingly important. Here, concepts such as "human in the loop" risk creating a false sense of security.
— If it simply means having one person approve the outcome at the end of the process, it is not enough. Humans need to be involved before the loop begins – setting direction, purpose, and accountability before the technology is used, she says.
At the same time, relationships and collective judgement are becoming critical competitive advantages. As AI makes it easier to act quickly, organisations risk losing the friction that encourages reflection, challenge, and critical thinking.
– AI has removed friction. But friction was never the problem – it was often the thing that forced us to think, says Hanna Lagerholm.
According to her, the next step is not simply about investing in more technology. It is about upgrading the human software.
– Everyone is asking which AI they should buy. Almost no one is asking which human software they need to upgrade. That is the question that will make the difference, Hanna Lagerholm concludes.
This article was originally published in the Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri on 2 June 2026.
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Hanna Lagerholm is a Partner at Netlight, operating at the intersection of AI, business, and technology, shaping direction for growth through orchestration and innovation. Her work combines applied organisational psychology and human systems thinking to strengthen decision quality, leadership, and long-term value in the age of AI.
Hanna Lagerholm
Hanna Lagerholm
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