I am writing this on a Monday morning after a quick review of my inbox and a weekend spent pondering the incredible amount of AI platforms and tools bombarding our industry today. My inbox shows 15 article pitches in the last couple of weeks; 90% of those were on AI-related topics.
This issue, you’ll notice, has a special section related to AI – a carefully chosen collection of articles our team hopes will help you move the needle when it comes to AI.
According to McKinsey’s most recent State of AI survey, 88% of organizations are now regularly using AI in at least one business function, up from 78% the year before. New tools launch daily. Every software platform has bolted on a “Copilot.” Every conference has an AI track. Every newsletter has a hot take. The signal-to-noise ratio has become almost impossible to manage.
And people are starting to feel it. I know I am.
Call it AI fatigue. Call it tech saturation. Whatever the label, the sentiment is the same: the relentless waterfall of AI announcements, mandates, and promises is beginning to exhaust us all. Organizations are drowning in options and underwhelmed by outcomes.
This is the tension we wanted to sit with in this issue.
Because here’s what strikes me: the problem isn’t AI itself. It’s that our digital age often rewards novelty over utility, announcements over evidence, and hype over truly useful, well-constructed tools. In this issue, we are giving you the opportunity to hear from restorers who are putting AI to the test – and learning what works and what doesn’t, at least as of right now. You’ll also find some harder conversations about what it means when the tools don’t deliver, about the emotional cost of constant technological upheaval on workers, and about what we lose when we mistake automation for innovation.
We’re not anti-AI. We’re pro-clarity. And right now, clarity is in short supply. Not every problem needs a model. Not every process needs to be “AI-powered.” Sometimes the most honest thing a company can say is, “We tried it, it wasn’t the right fit, we moved on.”
We could use more of that honesty in the conversation.
In partnership,
Michelle Blevins
michelle@candrmagazine.com
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Michelle Blevins is a content creator, marketing consultant, and entrepreneur whose career has been centered around education and fostering relationships within the industry she serves.