You Need a Magician to Make Magic
AI is magic, but it only amplifies a skilled operator — mandate it, then redeploy the people it frees.
Salter's stance: AI is a tool that multiplies a good 'magician' (a skilled prompter/thinker) and exposes a weak one. ABG built proprietary 'Authentic AI' on top of Gemini/Claude/OpenAI 2.5 years early, runs 32–34 internal agents, and mandates usage — the ~20% who won't learn are 'on the chopping block.' Crucially, he refuses to cut the 50% of headcount AI could replace; instead he redeploys them (accountant → analyst) to compound growth rather than just bank cost savings. His proof point: the best AI user in the company is its oldest employee.
- AI rewards the skilled and exposes the unskilled — prompt quality is the moat.
- Mandate adoption; non-adopters self-select out within a year.
- Redeploy the people AI frees into new value-creating roles; don't just cut to bank savings.
Reuters Momentum 2026, answering repeated questions about whether AI will shrink ABG's headcount; he reframes efficiency as a growth lever, not a layoff lever.