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Practical guides to common AI questions at work: what to ask, what it costs, and how to use it responsibly. Read one article or follow a suggested reading order. You do not need to be studying for an exam.

8 of 21 pieces written About this library

We have published 8 of the 21 articles planned for these reading paths. The remaining articles do not have release dates yet. You can read everything listed below now.

Good judgment starts with a little perspective.

In the room

Someone is pitching you an AI project, or demonstrating one. What to ask, what to discount, and how to tell a real capability from a good demo.

6 of 6 written

Step 1Eleven questions to ask when someone pitches you an AI projectYou don't need to know how it works to run a good review. You need to know which questions have uncomfortable answers.6 min read · reviewed 2026-07-22Step 2What a demo can't show youA demo is a performance of the best case. Three requests turn it into evidence, and all of them take under a minute.8 min read · reviewed 2026-07-29Step 3How to read an accuracy claim"94% accurate" is not a fact about a system. It's a fact about a test somebody designed, and the design is where the interesting part lives.8 min read · reviewed 2026-07-29Step 4Running a two-week bake-off that ends in a decisionMost pilots end in a conversation about whether it felt better. Write the acceptance criteria before you see a single result and that can't happen.9 min read · reviewed 2026-07-29Step 5Build, buy, or extend — and when to do none of themMicrosoft's own blueprint makes this a testable decision, which tells you it's a real one. The framing that helps is what you'd be sad to have someone else own.8 min read · reviewed 2026-07-29Step 6Deciding not to proceedThe hardest meeting in the track. How to say no in a way that's about the evidence rather than about enthusiasm, and how to leave the door open honestly.8 min read · reviewed 2026-07-29

Budgeting

What these systems cost, why the first estimate is usually wrong, and how to build a forecast you can defend to finance.

1 of 5 written

Step 1What an AI feature actually costs, and how to forecast itTokens are the unit you get billed in, and almost nobody explains them in terms a budget holder can use. Here's the arithmetic, with real prices.8 min read · reviewed 2026-07-24

Fundamentals

The small amount of mechanism you actually need in order to make good decisions. No maths, no code, nothing you will not use.

1 of 5 written

Step 1Why it makes things up, and what you can actually do about itHallucination isn't a bug someone forgot to fix. Understanding why it happens tells you which controls work and which are theater.7 min read · reviewed 2026-07-23

Risk and governance

What to require before something ships, what to disclose, and what to do when it goes wrong in public.

0 of 5 written

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On its own

A standalone guide you can read without following a reading path.

CertificationsThe three AI certifications worth having if you don't write codeMicrosoft, Google, and AWS each publish a foundational AI certification aimed at business audiences. Here's what each one actually covers, what it costs you, and the order I'd take them in.9 min read · reviewed 2026-07-25
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