Essays

Field notes from the machine.

June 2026

How companies get AI wrong: a field map.

The AI bill that outran payroll has an anatomy. Seven failure modes — wrong altitude, demo mirage, token incontinence, pilot purgatory — and the honest playbook for automation that pays for itself.

June 2026

AI is a multiplier, not a human sacrifice.

The first wave of AI commerce was pitched as replacement. That's backwards: brands aren't dying of headcount — they're dying of surface area. The real promise is one operator running what used to take a department.