More than a century ago, John Henry took up his hammer in a race against a steam-powered drill—man locked in battle with the future. He won the contest, but lost his life, immortalized as a folk hero who symbolized grit, resilience and ultimately, the cost of defiance in the face of progress.
Today, small businesses are staring down their own steam drill: artificial intelligence. And far too many are picking up the hammer.
The legend of John Henry endures because it captures a timeless tension between human skill and technological advancement. But its lesson is often misunderstood. His story is not a celebration of resistance. It is a warning. In a world being reshaped by AI, the real challenge for small businesses is not to outmatch the machine, but to outthink the moment and to adapt, evolve, and forge a new kind of partnership with technology.
AI tools efficiently handle tasks that once required hours of human effort, generating content in seconds, analyzing customer data instantly and automating routine communications. The parallels to the railroad era are striking. Like the steam drill that threatened steel-drivers, AI promises greater efficiency while simultaneously challenging human workers’ traditional roles.
The data tell a compelling story. Small businesses using AI save an average of 13 hours weekly, with 67 percent reporting increased customer acquisition and revenue growth. Yet many owners, particularly older generations, resist adoption. Just 45 percent of Gen X and Boomer small business owners use AI compared to 68 percent of Millennials and Gen Z.
John Henry’s victory came at the ultimate price: his life. The ballad’s most poignant versions emphasize not just his triumph, but his sacrifice, with versions containing the warning refrain, “This old hammer killed John Henry, but it won’t kill me.”
Small businesses attempting to “outwork” AI face a similar fate. While they might initially succeed through sheer human effort, the ultimate cost will become unsustainable. Meanwhile, AI continues improving. Today’s tools already help businesses handle 3 to 4 times more customer service volume with the same staff, automate 60 percent of routine inquiries, and reduce content creation time from days to minutes.
Unlike John Henry, who battled the steam drill head-on, today’s smart small businesses are learning to work with technology, not against it. In Southern Nevada, Avanti Green Eco Cleaning is developing an AI-powered system to optimize routes and scale operations more efficiently, a concept that earned them top honors in a statewide AI pitch competition. Udeso, another Nevada startup, uses AI to help small businesses navigate complex regulatory compliance. These companies aren’t replacing people; they’re using AI to handle the routine, so humans can focus on creativity, strategy, and growth.
This complementary approach that leverages AI for repetitive, data-heavy tasks while reserving human effort for creativity and connection has become the new “digital pickaxe.” Rather than swinging harder with traditional tools, businesses are adopting technology that amplifies human strengths. And, it’s working. Seventy-seven percent of AI-using small businesses report improved competitiveness, moving beyond John Henry’s either/or mindset to a both/and strategy where man and machine work in tandem.
The legend of John Henry endures not because it celebrates futile resistance but because it honors human dignity and skill in the face of technological change. The deeper meaning of the story isn’t about choosing between human and machine but recognizing that this binary framing itself leads to tragedy. For small businesses, the lesson is clear: rather than defining themselves in opposition to technology, they must redefine success as skillful integration of both human and artificial intelligence.
More simply, they must balance technology and touch.
John Henry’s hammer endures as a symbol of human grit, and the very real price of standing still in the face of progress. For today’s small businesses, the digital pickaxe offers a better path. This is not a battle to be won or lost, but a partnership to be forged, one that preserves what makes us human while harnessing the power of what comes next.