Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping not only how entrepreneurs operate their businesses, but how they think about uncertainty, opportunity, and change. New research suggests that engagement with AI is influencing the cognitive side of entrepreneurship, affecting how individuals assess risk, interpret information, and respond to fast-moving environments. Rather than remaining a purely technical aid, AI is altering the mental frameworks entrepreneurs use when making decisions.
The study found a clear association between exposure to digital tools, including AI systems, and sharper strategic thinking. Entrepreneurs who actively understand and use these technologies demonstrated greater mental flexibility, particularly when confronted with disruption. Instead of clinging to fixed plans, they were more willing to reassess priorities, revise assumptions, and adapt their strategies. This suggests that familiarity with AI supports a mindset that is better suited to volatile and uncertain conditions.
Importantly, the research challenges the common framing of AI as simply a tool for automation or efficiency. While productivity gains are real, the findings indicate that AI is also reshaping the entrepreneurial mindset itself. When used thoughtfully, AI encourages broader problem framing and more deliberate planning, helping entrepreneurs move away from reactive decision-making and towards more forward-looking approaches. In this sense, AI functions as a cognitive support, expanding how problems are understood rather than dictating solutions.
“What we are seeing is not AI replacing human thinking, but influencing how people think,” said the study’s lead author, Dr Jamiu Odugbesan. According to the research, entrepreneurs who work closely with AI begin to plan differently over time. They become more comfortable revisiting earlier decisions, weighing a wider range of options, and adapting when circumstances shift unexpectedly. This process appears to widen the scope of entrepreneurial decision-making, rather than narrowing it.
The research team, which included collaborators based in Nigeria, emphasised that technology alone does not produce these benefits. The strongest effects were observed when AI was actively integrated into strategic reasoning, rather than used passively in the background. The study examined 376 entrepreneurs working in Lagos’ Computer Village, one of West Africa’s largest technology marketplaces. This environment, characterised by intense competition and constant change, provided a rich real-world context for observing how digital exposure influences behaviour.
Entrepreneurs operating in such settings face significant pressure and limited protection against shocks, yet those with higher levels of AI knowledge consistently showed greater adaptability. The authors argue that these findings have broader implications for governments, investors, and educators. Training that focuses only on technical skills or efficiency gains may miss a deeper benefit: stronger judgment, faster adjustment to disruption, and more confident strategic thinking. Taken together, the results add to growing evidence that AI’s impact on work is not only economic, but cognitive, shaping how people reason, plan, and respond in uncertain environments.
More information: Jamiu Odugbesan et al, AI and the entrepreneurial mindset: mapping cognitive adaptability in the age of technological disruption, Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Technologies. DOI: 10.1108/JEEE-07-2025-0369
Journal information: Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Technologies Provided by University of East London