Goldman Sachs’$100K Shortcut

When AI Automates 95%…the Final 5% is Everything

We used to believe it took an army of associates and weeks of painstaking edits to write an IPO prospectus. That outdated reality just got torched. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon just revealed that AI can complete 95% of an S1 filing in a matter of minutes. What once consumed two weeks of a six-person team (>$100K) now vanishes into commodity work.

“Productivity,” Solomon explains, “is the ability to take smart people and give them tools so they can do more, do more quickly, help our clients think about things in different ways.”

This flips the script on what’s truly valuable in high-stakes finance — and beyond.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸

“The last 5% now matters because the rest is now a commodity,” Solomon said. That last 5% carries the essence of human insight, creativity, and integrity. If AI can crank out perfect boilerplate, how do we ensure we’re not just shipping a slick shell?

1. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: AI has elevated baseline accuracy, but the finishing touch still depends on professionals who grasp nuance.
2. 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Regulators and clients want more than wordsmithing; they want thoughtful context.
3. 𝗘𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀: AI doesn’t discern right from wrong — only patterns from data.

𝗔𝗜’𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲-𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱

This shift isn’t just happening at Goldman. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo — all are automating routine tasks to a point that was unthinkable five years ago. It’s saving time, boosting efficiency, and fueling competition for top engineering talent. Yet it’s also sparking tough questions about firms’ willingness to take a 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 approach:

• 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦?
• 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵? 𝘐𝘧 95% 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥?
• 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ‘𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦’? 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘈𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟱% 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆

Facing a world where AI commoditizes most functional tasks, leaders must double down on what can’t be automated: distinctly human capabilities. Here’s a quick framework:

𝟭. 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆
Evaluate tools for reliability and transparency. Ensure the platform you choose can scale — and be held accountable.

𝟮. 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁-𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀
Communication, negotiation, ethical reasoning — these are not “soft” at all. They’re the differentiators that AI can’t replicate.

𝟯. 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀
AI can generate, but humans must review. That final 5% requires emotional intelligence, contextual understanding, and a clear moral compass.

𝟰. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀
Productivity shouldn’t be the only benchmark. Evaluate how AI adoption improves client relationships and stakeholder trust.

AI has commoditized the bulk of tasks that once seemed unassailable. The significance now lies in your ability to add value by critically evaluating, interpreting, refining, and putting your unique version of human into that final 5%. Embrace the efficiency while fortifying the unique human core that remains.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗭𝗲𝗻
In all the rush, remember what only you can bring.