Does anyone make their own bread? I know it’s a weird question … but, hold that thought.

I’ve spent a long time, almost three decades working with SMEs… making them more efficient at what they do.

And these are businesses, they’re no fools… they’ve tried the conventional products and services, but there’s something…something intangible, there’s something wrong, something doesn’t fit! It’s that instinct, that sort of… itch they don’t know how to scratch. And so they reach out to people like me.

I have built all sorts of different things. Everything from:

• stock management and… invoicing systems
• event management and accommodation systems
• PAYE systems
• print management systems

I’ve built a lot of systems!

Yeast rising: AI and the birth of vibe coding

But then artificial intelligence came along and that put… a bit of a wrinkle in things. Or did it?

WARNING: MIXED METAPHORS AHEAD!

Baking bread is a lot like building software… we’ve got to keep doing it!

Building software is a lot like sprinting up a steep climb… it’s hard work! We’ve got to maintain it.

When it comes to software we’ve got to fix bugs, we’ve got to run updates, add new features, it doesn’t stop!

And, let’s face it, why should someone running their own business — unless they’re a software developer — become a software developer? Or, a vibe coder. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

Yes, of course AI can add new features and fix bugs! But without that background in software development it’s less like baking bread and more like building a black box. Because you’re not in a position to ask pointed questions, such as…

• Are you sharing confidential customer and client data with the AI?
• Is the code safe?

Data sovereignty. Data governance.

These are important questions with legal implications. Not fun!

British businesses bringing home the bread

SMEs are the backbone of Britain, performing minor miracles with meagre resources, keeping everything in motion.

So why don’t we make our own bread? We have these things called “bread-making machines”, and most of the supermarkets stock the principal ingredients.

But then, do we have the time? And the chances are our kids wouldn’t like it, and most of the supermarkets do a better job of it!

You see, there’s a bit of a parallel here with SMEs: armed with AI, they could build any number of things.

But could they fix the problems with their businesses if they don’t know what those problems are?

And that’s the thing: this is a human-shaped problem… and no amount of AI is going to fix that because AI doesn’t get a guided tour of a workshop or a factory floor.

It doesn’t get to ask questions based on decades of experience, it won’t do any of those things… at least for now!

But I’m confident enough, that before AI grows legs and sprouts arms, and starts doing the job that I do… then… there’s a really good argument for people like me!