2023 → “Show me your AI roadmap”

2024 → “Show me your AI results”

2025 → “Show me your AI purpose”

Last week I was back for the third time at the World AI Cannes Festival in France, where the Mediterranean winter sun felt like the perfect metaphor for where we are with AI - bright but not yet at its peak.

It was a real privilege to spend nearly two hours on stage diving deep into these themes. From keynotes to panels to corridor conversations with innovators shaping the future of AI, one pattern kept emerging. We’ve moved beyond the “sprinkle some AI on it” mindset to asking deeper questions: from technical demonstrations to transformation stories; from AI capabilities to AI purpose; and from “what AI can do” to “what AI should do”.

🌒 From deployment to value: The gap between AI deployment and AI value is closing - but only for those who put people first. Forward-thinking organisations are shifting focus from “where can we add AI?” to “where should AI add value?” - understanding that value creation isn’t about capabilities but outcomes.

🫂 From capability to purpose: The most successful AI products and implementations start with human needs and work backward to technology, not the other way around. While AI tools are becoming ubiquitous, the real breakthroughs come from amplifying human potential rather than replacing it.

🌟 From efficiency to empathy: In industries like financial services, where for years efficiency trumped emapthy, we’re seeing a fascinating pivot: from using AI to cut costs to using AI to actually understand and serve customers as individuals.

💎 From metrics to meaning: VCs are evolving their playbooks, evaluating AI opportunities through the lens of sustainable advantage rather than technical sophistication.

⚡ From speed to sustainability: While everyone’s racing to deploy AI, the winners are those taking time to build trust, transparency, and true organizational readiness.

What makes returning to Cannes special is watching the AI narrative unfold year after year - like following a conversation across time. You see beyond the headlines and hype cycles to the deeper shifts happening beneath the surface. Those shifts tell the real story.

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This post was adapted from my original LinkedIn post published in March 2025.