Q89　Can Companies Change Society in the AI Era?

The Short Answer

Companies do not merely generate profit—they create future value and change society.

Unpacking the Question

Can companies change society in the AI era?
I believe they can.
Look back at history: what changed society most profoundly was companies that created new value.
The automobile changed how people move.
The internet changed how the whole world connects.
The smartphone changed our daily lives themselves.
Companies have never merely provided products and services.
They have changed the very shape of society.
Of course, a company cannot survive without generating profit.
Profit is a vital driving force that lets a company keep reaching for the future.
But companies that made profit their only goal have rarely changed society in any great way.
What people resonate with is "What kind of society do we want to realize?" —that picture of the future.
In Future Value Theory, we see a company as an entity that creates future value and transforms society.
Future value means realizing a better future that does not yet exist.
Around companies that keep reaching for that future, people gather,
capital gathers,
and allies gather.
And that challenge changes society, little by little.
AI is a powerful technology for changing society.
But what kind of society to aim for is decided by the will of the company.
That is why, in the AI era, companies are called to a greater social role than ever before.

Implications for Management

In the AI era, a company's role is not only to generate profit.
What matters is "What future will we offer society?" —making the answer clear.
People gather, capital gathers, and opportunities for challenge arise around companies with a clear vision of the future.
Profit is not the goal; it is the means of continuing to create future value.
Companies in the AI era are asked to envision a future that makes society better, and to take on the challenge of realizing it.

How Would You Answer?

Is your company chasing profit alone?
Or is it continuing the challenge of making the society of the future even a little better?