Show Notes
Eric Pilkington joins the show to cut through the noise around artificial intelligence and deliver some hard truths about what's actually working—and what's just expensive theater.
AI isn't new; it's been around for 70+ years. The current generative AI boom is democratization, not innovation—and 95% of AI projects are still failing.
Startups with no product, no customers, and no revenue raising $30-100 million. Companies are getting massive funding without a single dollar of revenue.
The real AI leaders aren't the loudest voices on conference stages. They're the ones quietly embedding AI into workflows, building better products, and closing the gap between pilots and actual impact.
Most companies chase cost savings instead of using AI to drive top-line growth. You can't cut your way to growth. Real business transformation comes from understanding the actual problems you're solving, not from chasing the newest shiny object. The superheroes of AI aren't prognosticating on stages—they're in garages and labs building things that'll matter five years from now.
Mentioned:
MIT Study on failure of AI pilots in business [https://mlq.ai/media/quarterly_decks/v0.1_State_of_AI_in_Business_2025_Report.pdf]
More from Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks
Clinical psychologist, Dr. Sarah Adler, joins the show this week to talk about why "AI Therapy" doesn't exist, but is bullish on what AI can help therapists achieve.
Graeme Rudd spent years taking emerging technology into austere environments and watching it fail.
What happens when you get everything you thought you wanted and still feel empty?
What happens when AI-generated text masquerades as human research?
The voices telling you it won't work usually belong to people who never tried. Nobody gives you permission to take a chance. You just do it.