The AI Mistake That Cost Ernst & Young $1 Billion: Ignoring This Simple Rule

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-16

AI is sprinting into boardrooms faster than most companies can figure out what to do with it. But according to Jim Harris, a GenAI and disruptive innovation expert, the real danger isn't moving too slowly. It's slapping new technology onto old processes and expecting magic. Harris has advised heavyweights like American Express, Barclays, IBM, SAP, Walmart, and even the UK Cabinet Office. In 2024, TEC Canada named him Speaker of the Year for his work on AI. In this exclusive interview with the AI Speakers Agency, he breaks down why companies need to start from scratch, how to calm employees' fears, and why humans still matter as AI adoption accelerates. ### Why You Can't Just Sprinkle AI Fairy Dust on Old Processes Harris recalls a conversation with the head of AI at Ernst & Young (EY) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. EY, with 400,000 employees, had invested a billion dollars in AI. They had a 46-hour risk management process for clients. By applying AI with the original process designers, they cut it to 32 hours—a solid 20% gain. But then they tried something different. They took tech-first, AI-savvy newbies and paired them with risk managers who'd never touched the process. Result: 15 minutes. After adding back compliance steps, it landed at 6 hours. That's an 80%+ reduction. > "You can't just sprinkle some AI fairy dust on your existing processes and hope to get the greatest gain. You really need to start with a blank sheet of paper and say, if we were designing this process today from first principles, what would we do?" Harris points out that the people who designed the old process are often unconsciously wedded to it. Fresh eyes are essential. When you redesign from scratch, you not only save time but also free up people for more valuable work. ### How to Introduce AI Without Freaking Out Your Team Fear is the biggest barrier. Harris notes that most people in developed nations worry about AI stealing their jobs. As adults, we're naturally uncomfortable with new ways of working. So leaders must create psychological safety. - **Assure job security:** Explicitly tell employees their jobs are safe. - **Provide training:** Show that you'll equip them with the skills they need. - **Highlight enhancement:** Explain how AI will boost their skill set and employability. "An organisation has to work really hard to say, 'Your jobs are safe, number one, and number two, we're going to provide you training. And three, this is going to enhance your skill set and your employability,'" Harris says. ### The Transformational Power of AI Beyond ChatGPT Harris has interviewed Demis Hassabis, founder of Google DeepMind and Nobel Prize winner in 2024. He shares an example of a PhD student who used AI to solve a protein-folding problem that had stumped scientists for decades. In just weeks, the student achieved what would have taken years. That's the kind of leap AI enables when you rethink problems from the ground up. ### The Bottom Line Stop trying to retrofit AI into outdated workflows. Start with a blank sheet, bring in fresh perspectives, and address your team's fears head-on. The companies that do this will see staggering gains—not just incremental improvements. As Harris puts it, the risk isn't moving too fast; it's moving too slow while clinging to the past.