The AI Susceptibility Index (ASI) is a diagnostic instrument within the Strategic Formula System that assesses how vulnerable individual strategic elements are to disruption or displacement by artificial intelligence. It operates at the element level, not the company level, and is designed to make AI exposure legible, comparable, and analyzable.
ASI evaluates each element in the Periodic Table of Business Strategy against a fixed set of dimensions that capture how AI can replicate value, alter cost structures, shift competitive dynamics, or accelerate substitution. Those element-level scores can then be averaged across the elements in a Strategic Formula to produce a formula-level ASI, enabling consistent comparison across different strategic configurations. The result is a consistent index that highlights where AI pressure is most likely to erode advantage—and where structural resistance or mitigation is possible.
ASI does not predict outcomes or prescribe responses. Its role is to surface where AI pressure acts within a Strategic Formula, so that leaders can reason clearly about risk, fragility, and adaptation.
The AI Susceptibility Index was created by Eric D. Noren to address a recurring gap in AI-era strategy discussions: the tendency to treat AI disruption as uniform, inevitable, or industry-wide.
ASI was developed as an extension of the Periodic Table of Business Strategy, allowing AI exposure to be assessed at the level of specific business models, strategies, and competitive advantages rather than at the level of entire companies or sectors. Its structure reflects applied analysis across multiple industries, where similar technologies produced very different strategic effects depending on the underlying elements involved.
The index is intentionally constrained. Its value comes from consistent application of fixed dimensions, not from customization or expansion.
The AI Susceptibility Index makes comparative analysis of AI exposure possible without collapsing nuance or resorting to generalizations.
Within the Strategic Formula System, ASI allows analysts and leaders to:
When ASI scores are examined across the elements of a Strategic Formula, patterns emerge that help explain why some formulas remain resilient under AI pressure while others degrade quickly. These insights are diagnostic, not deterministic.
The AI Susceptibility Index is not a measure of AI readiness, maturity, or adoption. It evaluates exposure to disruption, not preparedness or competence.
It is not a prediction of firm-level success or failure. High-susceptibility elements can still perform well with compensating strengths, and low-susceptibility elements can still be mismanaged.
It is not inherently a ranking of companies or industries. While ASI scores can be aggregated across a Strategic Formula for comparative analysis, the index itself is designed to operate at the element level.
It is not prescriptive. ASI highlights pressure points; decisions about response, investment, or redesign require judgment beyond the index
The AI Susceptibility Index is one of three core components of the Strategic Formula System.
Within the system:
ASI does not explain why advantage compounds, nor does it define strategic structure. It provides the diagnostic lens that reveals where AI pressure is most likely to reshape the formula.
