AI that earns its place

AI earns its place when it makes a meaningful difference to a real task. That sounds obvious, but it is a useful filter in a landscape full of impressive demonstrations.

Start with the moment of friction

Look for work that is repetitive, hard to begin, or unnecessarily slow—not simply an area where a model can produce an answer. The opportunity is stronger when a person can clearly describe what better looks like.

Then make the first version small enough to learn from. A useful prototype has a user, a decision it supports, and a measure of whether it helped.