Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing entrepreneurship far beyond the conventional narrative of automation and efficiency boosts. Recent groundbreaking research reveals that AI is fundamentally transforming the cognitive landscape of entrepreneurs, reshaping how they approach risk, opportunity, and adaptability in an increasingly unpredictable business environment. This research, spearheaded by Dr. Jamiu Odugbesan of the University of East London, in collaboration with academics from Nigeria, underscores the profound influence of AI on strategic thought processes and mental flexibility in entrepreneurial settings.
The study emerges from an extensive survey conducted among 376 entrepreneurs operating within Lagos’ Computer Village, one of West Africa’s foremost technology marketplaces. This bustling tech hub, home to thousands of traders and developers, presents an ideal milieu for observing the interplay between AI exposure and entrepreneurial behavior under high-pressure, disruption-prone conditions. The entrepreneurs immersed in this digital ecosystem demonstrated a notable capacity to recalibrate their strategies dynamically, a trait strongly linked to their familiarity and active use of AI tools.
Traditionally, AI has been framed narrowly as a technological facilitator primarily enhancing automation or productivity. However, the research challenges this limited view by illustrating how AI serves as a catalyst for evolving entrepreneurial cognition. Rather than automating routine tasks alone, AI nurtures expansive, forward-looking strategic thinking by enabling entrepreneurs to consider a broader spectrum of possibilities, consistently re-evaluate assumptions, and adapt agilely when faced with unforeseen changes or market shocks. This cognitive adaptability is a cornerstone for resilience in volatile environments.
Dr. Odugbesan emphasizes that this paradigm shift is not about AI replacing human cognition but modifying its very essence. Entrepreneurs actively engaged with AI exhibit an enhanced ability to dissect complex problems and generate multifaceted solutions. Their decision-making becomes less reactive and more preemptive, characterized by deliberate planning processes that factor in a range of scenarios. This reorientation broadens the conventional entrepreneurial mindset, embedding AI as a strategic partner in intellectual deliberation rather than a mere operational accessory.
The research further highlights a critical nuance: the inherent power of AI technology itself does not guarantee cognitive benefit. Instead, its impact is significantly pronounced when AI is embedded within the entrepreneurs’ core strategic reasoning frameworks. Passive or background usage of AI tools fails to yield the same level of cognitive enhancement. This finding calls for a rethinking of how entrepreneurs engage with AI — not just as users of technology but as integrators who harness AI-driven insights to foster deeper reflection and more adaptive thought patterns.
In uncovering these dynamics, the study delivers crucial implications for stakeholders spanning governments, educational institutions, and investment bodies. Current AI adoption efforts often emphasize technical proficiency or operational productivity, neglecting the transformative influence on decision-making cognition. By understanding AI’s role in expanding the entrepreneurial mental model, training programs and policies can be reoriented towards cultivating strategic adaptability and cognitive flexibility, essential competencies for thriving in an era marked by rapid technological disruption.
The Lagos Computer Village setting amplifies the real-world significance of these findings. Entrepreneurs in this environment operate amidst relentless competition and vulnerability to disruptive forces without substantial protective mechanisms. Despite these challenges, those equipped with higher AI literacy and digital exposure consistently demonstrate superior cognitive agility. This mental dexterity enables them to pivot faster, rethink strategies promptly, and navigate uncertainty more effectively — all critical factors for survival and growth in volatile markets.
Moreover, the cognitive shifts triggered by AI hold broader ramifications for economic development and innovation ecosystems. As entrepreneurs develop enhanced strategic cognition, they contribute to richer innovation cycles, more robust startups, and resilient local economies. The research positions AI not just as a productivity tool but as an enabler of entrepreneurial evolution, fostering a new generation of thinkers who master the interplay between human creativity and machine intelligence.
The findings also resonate with broader scholarly discussions on the cognitive impact of technology in the workplace. Rather than viewing AI strictly through an economic lens, this research underscores its profound psychological and intellectual effects. AI shapes not only what people do but fundamentally how they think, plan, and respond to complex challenges. This dual influence underscores the transformative potential of AI in reconfiguring human cognition in entrepreneurial and other high-stakes professional domains.
Key to harnessing AI’s cognitive benefits, the study advocates for deliberate engagement strategies that integrate AI into entrepreneurial reasoning rather than relegating it to a peripheral role. This insight challenges both entrepreneurs and support systems to deepen their understanding and application of AI capabilities. By doing so, they unlock the full spectrum of AI’s potential to advance not only operational efficiency but also intellectual agility and strategic foresight.
Ultimately, this research represents a pivotal advance in understanding the intersection between AI and human cognition within entrepreneurship. By mapping cognitive adaptability as influenced by AI engagement, the study offers new pathways for enhancing entrepreneurial performance amid technological disruption. As industries worldwide grapple with uncertainty, the ability to rethink, adapt, and strategically innovate — empowered by AI-enhanced cognition — may define the next frontier of entrepreneurial success.
As the research team points out, the future of entrepreneurship lies in harnessing AI as a cognitive partner, a collaborator that broadens mental horizons and strengthens resilience against disruption. This shift redefines AI’s role from a mere tool of productivity to an agent of cognitive evolution, reshaping entrepreneurial mindsets for a new technological age.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: AI and the Entrepreneurial Mindset: Mapping Cognitive Adaptability in the Age of Technological Disruption
News Publication Date: 12-Jan-2026
Web References: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-07-2025-0369
References: Jamiu Odugbesan, Andrew Tafameland, Dennis Akrawah, AI and the Entrepreneurial Mindset: Mapping Cognitive Adaptability in the Age of Technological Disruption, Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Technologies
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Entrepreneurship, Cognitive Adaptability, Strategic Thinking, Technological Disruption, Digital Tools, Innovation, Decision-Making, Mental Flexibility, AI Literacy, Lagos Computer Village
