đ§ Unhyped AI: Week 9 Digest
Not anti-AI. Just anti-BS.
Still in a vulnerability hangover from the book launch, that post-ship wobble where you wonder if any of it matters. But the week delivered its own reminders: hype fatigue is real, semantics not scale is where leverage lies, and Accenture just proved âAI transformationâ often means old-fashioned austerity.
ⱠIf you only have ~15 mins⊠Executive Picks
AI Hype is Flipping (Substack Deep Dive)
Early pilots stall, boards want receipts, and hype fatigue sets in. Discernment, governance, and small wins now compound into scale.
Read post âAccentureâs AI moment = austerity
Reskilling has limits, AI revenue doesnât offset softness, and cuts are rebranded as reinvention.
Read post âBainâs Technology Report: Semantics Move Value
Beyond protocols and plumbing, Bain argues the leverage is a pragmatic semantic layer - defining meaning as the control point for agent reliability, interoperability, and pricing.
Read post â
đ Strategy, leadership & value
Forget the bubble. Start climbing the mountain.
Daniel Hulmeâs metaphor: AI isnât a bubble, itâs a mountain seamed with gold - value is real, but only with experience and discipline.
Read post âOh NO, my book has got it all wrong!
WSJ leaders say âstop worrying about ROI.â Cue some tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation.
Read post âLove this sentence from UNHYPED (by Andreas Nigg)
On hype creating FOMO-driven AI boneyards, and why ROI focus matters.
Read post âMcKinseyâs âAgentic Organisationâ
Ambitious, sweeping, but âmove fastâ risks repeating the very pilot hell they warn about. Discernment is the new velocity.
Read post âAI isnât the value prop (HBR critique)
Start with strategy and customer value. AI accelerates whatâs there - strong strategy compounds, weak collapses.
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𧱠Architecture, agents & security
GenAI in the intelligence war room
AUTOINT: OSINT + agents + multimodal LLMs as a new geostrategic capability for states, and risks if it proliferates.
Read post âMetaâs Gaia2 benchmark
Agents tested in moving, noisy, real-world-like environments. Capability measured not just by answers, but by timely, reliable actions under budget.
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đ§ Product, growth & culture
HBRâs âAI Workslopâ survey
Critique: wafer-thin data, clickbait headline. AI amplifies whatâs already there - donât blame the hammer for bent nails.
Read post âAI is a mirror, not a silver bullet (Google Cloud DORA)
It reflects workflows and culture, strong foundations accelerate, weak collapse faster.
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đŹ Research, science & society
Neurodivergence was never broken
LLMs help neurodivergent people externalise cognitive load, level the playing field, and restore belonging.
Read post âWe wonât lose reading. We might lose writing.
Writing is cognition scaffolding; outsourcing it risks atrophying a core human way of thinking.
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đ Personal reflections & milestones
BrenĂ© Brownâs âvulnerability hangoverâ
On publishing UNHYPED, the wobble after launch, and why âwrote the book on itâ is a durable edge.
Read post âSaturday ennui & Forbesâ psychology reminder
Flatness after frenetic months, and why sociology, psychology, and philosophy remain the missing piece in AI.
Read post âTeam Topologies 2nd Edition
My quote featured on the back cover - gratitude for a book that shaped how I see organisations.
Read post â
If you want receipts, not theatre, I wrote the book on it - literally. UNHYPED: From Hype to Hard ROI in the Age of AI. Get the book â