For a long time, software decisions have been framed as a fairly binary choice: do we build something ourselves, or do we buy it from a vendor? That framing still exists, but needs to be expanded. With the rise of AI coding tools, workflow orchestration, and the possibility of systems that can generate logic at runtime, the choices has become far broader – and far more interesting.
Tag: #AIAdoption
When AI Agents Stop Being a Project and Start Being Headcount
A LinkedIn post from Clark University’s advancement team stopped me mid-scroll – not because “7 AI agents” is technically significant, but because it’s a new kind of organizational announcement. They describe software components the way you’d describe hires: clear roles, scopes, budgets, governance, and “human oversight”… plus an explicit boundary around relationship work.
It’s a glimpse of how automation can be socialized inside organizations.
GenAI at Work – Listening to Concerns and Leading with Clarity
Rolling out Generative AI in the workplace is more about people than platforms. Over the past year and half, I’ve helped a number of organisations launch GenAI initiatives – and nearly every one of them has surfaced questions, worries, or resistance from staff (with some common themes). These concerns are not signs of failure; they’re signs that people are paying attention. In this article, I want to share the most common concerns I’ve encountered – and how organisations can respond in ways that build trust, not tension.
GenAI Adoption Opinions Seem Polarized – Pragmatism Will Win
If you follow the GenAI conversation closely, it can feel like whiplash – like there is no agreement. One day it’s “AI is rewriting the economy,” the next it’s “AI is all hype and risk.” It feels like we’re now in a “Great Divergence” – not just differing opinions, but two parallel realities shaped by incentives and where you sit in the organization (something I have seen in my own work – some organisations are embracing AI and realizing the benefits while other are flatly, not interested).
Risk × Friction: How Much Human Oversight Should You Remove with GenAI?
GenAI is an accelerant. It speeds up decisions, output creation, and information flow, often without strengthening the system underneath. And many organisations are already running “hot”: highly optimised, tightly interconnected, little slack, and dependent on tacit knowledge.
So the real question isn’t just “How much can we automate?” It’s also “Where does speed strengthen the system – and where does speed increase fragility?”
GenAI Is a Powerful Hammer – Not Everything is a Nail
Generative AI is everywhere and it’s tempting to reach for it whenever something feels messy, slow, or frustrating.
But when a tool is this powerful – and this non-deterministic – the real question isn’t “Can we use GenAI?” It’s “Should we?”
Used well, GenAI boosts productivity. Used indiscriminately, it quietly introduces risk.
This is where GenAI stops being just a productivity tool and starts becoming a governance challenge.
GenAI Workflows – Sometimes Friction is Good (… and systems are fragile)
One of the challenges about GenAI adoption is simply getting started: picking tools, running pilots, training staff, and rolling out a plan. Another major challenge is where and how GenAI gets introduced into already fragile, tightly coupled organisational systems.
I was watching a Veritasium video (The Strange Math That Predicts (Almost) Anything) about complex systems and the moment they reach a “critical state.” A forest can look calm and stable right up until a single spark turns it into a massive wildfire. Not because the spark was special but because the system was already primed for runaway behaviour.
In a general sense, many organisations today look just like that forest, in a critical state.
GenAI for Small Business: Why the Adoption Journey Looks Different
All organisations seem to be dealing with the same question – “Where do we even start with GenAI?”
But the context behind that question is very different. In large organisations, there are budgets, teams, governance committees, structured programs and projects. In small businesses, there’s you, a small team, and the pressure of everyday operations.
This article looks at why GenAI adoption isn’t just a scaled-down version of enterprise AI adoption – and why small businesses need a different, more streamlined approach.
AI Velocity Gaps: Tech, Law, and Business Divergence
Three critical components of the AI ecosystem are accelerating in different directions with no gravity to bind them. Technology development races ahead exponentially, legislation struggles to keep pace, and business adoption moves cautiously behind them, creating an unstable system that threatens our competitive positions.
Make GenAI Stick: Why Your Organization Needs a Community of Practice
Your team just ran a successful GenAI pilot – but how do you keep the momentum going? Too often, early wins fade without a way to spread knowledge and enthusiasm. A Community of Practice (CoP) is one of the best ways to make GenAI adoption take root and grow.