Field notes.
Real opinions about what AI is getting right and wrong for operators in 2026, written by us, in our own voice, not a content calendar. Plus the occasional teardown of something Izzy built and what it taught us.
Articles
What to Automate First with AI: The Toil Test
Gartner predicts over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027. The toil test: three filters for picking a first AI agent workflow that survives.
One AI Agent vs Multiple Agents: Wrong Question
One agent or many is really a permissions question. 45.6% of teams still share API keys between agents. Design who sees what before you pick an architecture.
The Demo Worked. Here's Why AI Pilots Fail in Production
Gartner: at least 50% of GenAI projects died after proof of concept. Vercel's CEO named the wall: connecting agents to your systems. Here's the failure map.
AI Agent Governance Is the New Job. Whose Is It?
Vercel's CEO calls agent governance "literally our new job." Schellman: 74% of practitioners say they're AI audit-ready, 27% are. Here's whose job it is.
Why AI Rollouts Fail: Teams Need a Framework
56% of employees say AI caused a work mistake, and 57% hid it (KPMG, 2025). Here's the 4-part AI fluency framework that fixes ungoverned AI use on any team
An Anthropologist's Field Notes on Digital Transformation
13 years watching digital rollouts fail taught one lesson: it's never the tool. A 2025 KPMG/Melbourne study found 61% of employees hide their AI use at work
AI Fluency Isn't a Skill, It's Judgment
AI fluency isn't prompting, it's judgment, and it starts with leadership, not tools. 88% of companies use AI, only 28% use it well (DataCamp, 2026)
Human-in-the-Loop Without a Compliance Department
Only 23% of firms have scaled an AI agent into a single business function, McKinsey finds. Add human approval checkpoints without hiring a compliance team.
How to Prove AI ROI in 6 Weeks (No Data Team Required)
Developers who were measurably 19% slower still believed AI sped them up 20% (METR). Here's a 6-week plan to prove AI ROI with a spreadsheet, not a data team.
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