The Near-Zero Cost of Information

I have recently been following the Government’s decision to absorb rural Leicestershire communities into an enlarged Leicester authority. My concern is that rural interests may be weakened and council tax could rise to support spending priorities elsewhere in the City.

Understanding the issue meant following government announcements, council reports, financial information, political statements and local reporting. I used AI to bring this material together and provide weekly updates on what had changed.

That experience prompted a wider thought: the cost of collecting and initially investigating a large amount of public information has fallen to virtually nil for everyone.

Why this matters

Most business decisions are, in effect, probabilistic bets. We choose a course of action because the available evidence suggests this is the best path.

The quality of the bet depends partly on the information behind it. Relevant, timely and accurate information should improve the decision. Missing, outdated or biased information may point it in the wrong direction.

Until recently, gathering enough information was expensive. Large organisations could employ analysts, researchers, lawyers and consultants, whereas SMEs simply could not compete.

What AI changes

AI can automatically search a much wider range of sources, identify relevant material, undertake the first stage of analysis and produce weekly updates.

The information can then be added to an ongoing AI project. New developments are considered alongside earlier research, creating a continuing evidence base rather than a succession of disconnected searches and emails.

Management time moves from collecting information to assessing it and acting on it.

For an SME, this could mean monitoring changes in regulation, competitors, suppliers, prices, technology or customer behaviour. A regular update can explain what has changed, why it matters and whether any action is required.

The wider consequences

This begins to reduce the information advantage traditionally enjoyed by large organisations. Serious ongoing research is available to many more people.

It also changes the competitive position of SMEs. If relevant information can be obtained and organised so cheaply, failing to use it creates an avoidable disadvantage. Competitors may be making decisions using a broader and more current evidence base.

In this environment, business owners need to spend more time with the information, looking for an edge rather than ignoring it because it is too difficult to find.

A note on the use of AI

AI was used to help develop, edit and publish this article. The underlying ideas, examples and conclusions are mine, as is the published article.