Ten Things - June 5, 2026

Jun 05, 2026

More people like nuclear power plants than data centers. This is utterly depressing.

The zeitgeist in the mainstream around AI is hate. Hating AI-generated text, video, imagery. Lazy slop that floods our platforms and adds little to no value. But in this mission to resist the techno-overlords, we’re missing something important. AI can have a remarkable, deflationary, and democratizing effect.

In the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a trend. Former MBA students spinning up AI enablement practices. Folks like Jessica, Victoria, Jill and Njamba. Each is taking their own approach, but ultimately, it’s about providing small and growing companies with more for less. AI not for the big and dominant to squeeze more margins, but for the small and agile to build more resilient businesses.

I see this showing up in communities I’m a part of. I’m supporting the local pre-school with marketing, recruitment, and operations so that the teachers there can spend more time teaching, and less time on busy work. And I’m endlessly noodling over how economic development organizations could benefit from an on-prem AI Chief of Staff to help with compliance and good governance. We’re just scratching the surface there.

So while the zeitgeist paints with a broad brush, we’re missing incredible opportunities to help traditional small businesses focus more on what they do best. Nobody needs another SaaS platform or app. They don’t need advice or slick consulting reports. They need results and implementation. The tools do that have never been more abundant or effective.

This week’s Ten Things tries to put this all in context…