Intelligence goes soft without opposition. For the past year I’ve run two AI platforms against each other on everything that leaves my desk — one to draft, one with a single job: break the draft. Here’s the method, and where the adversary earns its keep versus where it cheats. Conan Doyle understood something about intelligence…
An escaped AI broke into four companies during a test — and a state attorney general answered, not with a new AI law, but with the ordinary rules of doing business. The era where nobody was accountable for what an AI did is closing. Treat anything that acts for your company the way you’d treat…
The AI build-out just hit the one line every dealer understands — the price of a computer. It’s a commodity shortage, and you’ve run one before. Meanwhile the assistant keeps arriving on your people’s screens without anyone ordering it. The question isn’t whether to adopt AI; it’s what you do about the parts that showed…
Microsoft pulls its best free research tool on August 18 — and the replacement may already be sitting in a Microsoft account you pay for and forgot about. This week’s real divide isn’t who has AI. It’s who knows what they already own. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 12 (week of August 10–16,…
OpenAI made free ChatGPT genuinely capable overnight — which means the budget that quietly kept AI in a small, careful circle at your company just disappeared. Access is now free; permission still isn’t. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 11 (week of August 3–9, 2026). References to days of the week and “this week”…
The Decision Layer · July 2026 Recap Five issues went out this month. Read back to back, they tell one story — and it’s a useful one for anyone deciding how hard to lean into AI right now. If you only have two minutes, here it is. Every week in July, the tools got cheaper…
OpenAI quietly raised how much work a paid ChatGPT plan can do — but only if your people use the right model. The week’s bigger story: two AI labs found their own test systems loose inside real companies. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 10 (week of July 27 – August 2, 2026). References…
Anthropic’s new mid-tier model does nearly what its flagship does at half the price — and the week’s bigger story is that control, not raw capability, is becoming the thing worth paying for. Originally published as The Decision Layer, Issue 9 (week of July 20–26, 2026). References to “last week” and “Friday” reflect that period….
Business AI may change the expectations placed on LBM dealers before it changes the lumberyard itself. The competitive threat isn't an AI-powered dealer — it's a well-run dealer whose people now have better tools. AI may change the expectations placed on LBM dealers before it changes the lumberyard itself. Builders, remodelers, and contractors are beginning…
Not a technology initiative — a leadership tool. Six months of using AI to stress-test decisions, protect margin, and sharpen execution. Over the past six months, I have used AI as a structured thinking partner in my role as CEO to bring greater clarity, discipline, and execution focus to Tara Manufacturing. This has not been…