The hidden cost of AI convenience

The fastest answer can still be expensive if nobody checks its assumptions, sources or consequences.

AI convenience feels cheap because the first answer arrives quickly.

The actual cost appears later: a wrong claim in a sales deck, a confident recommendation based on stale information, a workflow that quietly fails at the edge cases.

Friction has a purpose

Some friction should be removed: repetitive formatting, first drafts, basic summarisation and structure.

Other friction is useful. Checking the source, asking one more question and reviewing a customer-facing message are forms of quality control.

Build review into the workflow

The mature use of AI is not “generate and send.”

It is generate, inspect, improve and then decide. The extra minute is often where the real value is created.

Read the field notes