Herd mentality is not new in organisational life. Institutions have always looked sideways at competitors, peers, and market leaders when making decisions under uncertainty. What is new is the speed, scale, and legitimacy artificial intelligence gives that behaviour.
When leaders say, “Everyone else is doing it,” they are rarely expressing confidence. More often, they are revealing anxiety under pressure. Pressure created by investor expectations, board scrutiny, vendor narratives, public discourse, and a rapidly growing belief that AI adoption is not a strategic choice, but an inevitability.
This matters because AI does not simply introduce new tools into organisations. It amplifies existing organisational behaviour.
And when that behaviour is rooted in imitation rather than critical thinking, the consequences scale rapidly.
From Social Proof to Systemic Risk
Organisations have always borrowed ideas from one another. Consultants replicate familiar frameworks across industries. Executives attend conferences and return with similar language, priorities, and operating models. Sector trends influence strategy long before evidence fully emerges.
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