Sonali Sharma launches book arguing AI needs collective intelligence, not hero leaders

Sonali Sharma has released The 90% Code, a new book from FriesenPress that argues AI will fail inside leadership systems built around concentrated power. The book frames collective intelligence as the missing structure for organizations, communities and governance in the AI era.

Why it matters: - Sonali Sharma argues that AI is exposing a deeper problem in organizations: decisions are still concentrated at the top while the people closest to problems lack authority. - The book says that gap can limit how well companies, public institutions and communities adapt as AI spreads. - Sharma’s central claim is that distributed complexity now requires collective intelligence, not a single heroic leader.

What happened: - Sonali Sharma announced the launch of The 90% Code: Rewriting Power for the AI Era, published by FriesenPress. - The book is available worldwide in hardcover, paperback and ebook through FriesenPress and Ingram distribution. - Sharma is available for interviews. - The book is based on Sharma’s argument that the traditional Hero Model of leadership, economics and governance can no longer handle current challenges.

The details: - Sharma defines “the 90 percent” as the people who create value, hold essential knowledge and live with the consequences of decisions but have little say in them. - The book’s framework starts with five capacities: inner alignment, relational intelligence, systems stewardship, ethical foresight and regenerative action. - Sharma says those capacities must be matched by three infrastructure shifts: economic infrastructure that shares ownership and value; democratic infrastructure that gives affected people authority; and trust infrastructure that makes AI accountable to the people it affects. - The book includes two applied tools: a System Diagnostic that maps power, information and accountability, and an AI Assessment Framework that tests AI systems across dimensions including human capacity and accountability. - The book draws on Elinor Ostrom’s work on shared governance and cites field examples including Morning Star’s manager-free teams, Mondragon’s worker-owned cooperatives, Amsterdam’s Schoonschip floating neighborhood, Ireland’s citizens’ assemblies and Bowling Green, Kentucky’s AI-assisted community planning. - Sharma highlights Bowling Green as an example of AI expanding a community’s ability to think together, with nearly 8,000 residents using AI-assisted deliberation to shape a long-term plan. - The book also includes a quote from Jos de Blok, founder of Buurtzorg, who wrote: “Most books about leadership are about leaders. This one is about the rest of us.” - Kirkus Reviews gave the book a “Get It” recommendation and called it “a reflective call to action for individuals, organizations, and humanity as a whole.”

Between the lines: - The book is not just a critique of leadership style. It is a challenge to the way authority, ownership and AI systems are designed. - Sharma’s warning is that AI can either expand human judgment or concentrate value among technology owners, depending on how organizations use it. - Her framework treats participation as a governance issue, not just a culture issue. - The book’s structure suggests a broader shift from leader-centric management to shared decision-making and accountability.

What's next: - Sharma wants leaders to measure whether AI is making people more capable or more dependent. - The book’s tools are positioned for use inside organizations that want to assess power, accountability and AI impact. - Sharma is expected to continue promoting the book through interviews and public discussion.

The bottom line: - The 90% Code argues that the AI era will reward systems that distribute intelligence and authority, not those that rely on a few people at the top to make every call. - More information is available at the book's website.