I’m currently reading “Reshuffle: Who Wins When AI Restacks the Economy” by Sangeet Paul Choudary, and one metaphor he uses has completely reshaped how I view the AI revolution

Choudary compares today's approach to AI with one of the greatest strategic missteps in military history: the Maginot Line

After World War I, France built this vast 450-mile chain of bunkers and underground fortifications along its border with Germany

Centralized, heavily engineered, and nearly impenetrable, it was a masterpiece of 20th-century military engineering

But it failed catastrophically.

In May 1940, German forces launched a blitzkrieg, bypassing the Maginot Line entirely

This new approach to warfare wasn’t just faster, it was systemically different

It coordinated tanks, infantry, and dive bombers through real-time two-way radio communication and decentralized decision-making

The tools weren’t new, but the system was. And that’s why it worked

Choudary argues that this is the same mistake we’re making with AI

We still ask: “Will AI replace humans?” or “Which tasks will AI automate?” , as if the existing structure of work remains intact

This is a framing error

It assumes the "game" is the same

But it’s not

Like blitzkrieg, AI isn’t just a tool that makes things faster

It redefines how work is organized and coordinated

It shifts us from task-based efficiency to systemic transformation

AI enables real-time, distributed coordination that mirrors how blitzkrieg turned disjointed forces into a unified and responsive war machine

Yet, most businesses today are still building Maginot Lines, plugging AI into isolated processes while maintaining outdated, centralized decision-making structures

There’s a better path

Firms that adopt a task-centric approach to AI focus on local wins, automating repetitive processes like scanning contracts or sorting emails

But system-centric firms ask deeper questions: How do we redesign the architecture of work? 

Where can AI enhance not just efficiency, but adaptability, speed, and coordination?

Conclusion: Stop fortifying the old system—Start rethinking it

AI isn’t just a faster horse, it’s the invention of the engine

If your business treats AI as a bolt-on tool for old workflows, you risk repeating the Maginot Line mistake: reinforcing the past while the future blitzes right past you

The winners in the AI economy will be those who don't just automate tasks, but reimagine the system itself