13. June 2026

Let's talk about AI

Do you have AI FOMO?

Are you worried others will embrace this technology first and gain a competitive advantage before your organization does?   In this posting I'll talk about three main points, AI is inevitable AND valuable, not all AI services and products are legitimate, and that ethics matter when adopting this technology.

AI is here to stay, and we all need to get onboard

Many of us are scrambling to keep up with the pace of change in AI.  The advancement in agentic artificial intelligence (autonomous systems that can plan and execute tasks with minimal human intervention) is moving at breakneck speed.  In a recent article from McKinsey & Company, the State of AI trust in 2026, knowledge and training gaps are the leading barrier to implementation.  The data also shows that although many businesses though say the technology is racing ahead while governance, risk management, and security practices lag behind.  In addition, Inaccuracy is still a major concern.  Like asking my kids who ate the last of the ice cream, AI can give you a slightly different response when asking the same prompt over and over. 

Despite these challenges, AI is quickly becoming essential in the manufacturing space because it can save an organization so much money through:

• Predictive maintenance – early identification improving planned maintenance and equipment up time
• Quality Control – spotting defects faster and more consistently
• Robotics – assisting in human labor to reduce higher risk or repetitive motion injuries
• Supply Chain and Inventory Optimization – reducing working capital and outages
• Energy Efficiency – control systems optimize usage

So why isn’t everyone embracing it?    The reality is that for many smaller manufacturers, equipment is older and does not have the connectivity needed.  Data infrastructure is also a big issue because if data is incomplete or in the wrong format machine learning models will struggle.  ML models are easier to implement when you have a centralized data source like an ERP.  If you are still milking out that ancient, on-prem ERP from the 80’s or have eight separate software programs, some written in-house, still running your business, start your AI journey with a modern ERP.  Trail Guide can help you navigate that implementation, regardless of which system you choose.

Skilled AI labor is also in short supply and expensive.  Who has the budget for a manufacturing focused data scientist on staff?  Nobody if you aren’t a large company, and according to the National Association of Manufacturers, 74% of US manufacturers fall into that category with 20 or fewer employees.  That said, your organization needs to start building an AI strategy that takes these factors into account and sets your organization on a path to benefit from this technology.  A good place to start is by connecting with your state Manufacturing Extension Partnership.  Here in Oregon, that is OMEP. 

Be Wary of Agencies Trying to Turn a Quick Buck

There is a new term out there, ‘AI Washing’.  This is a deceptive marketing practice where companies overrepresent their capabilities with AI as a way to attract new customers and drive sales.  Forbes shares that startups that mention AI attract 15-50 percent more investment which is why this washing trend is increasing.  Be wary of companies chasing the dot AI bubble.  Some things to look for when you are hunting for help out there… 1) look for organizations that have good AI governance framework around privacy, ethics, and data 2) ensure the organization you are talking with is transparent about how their technology works 3) ensure they can demonstrate they employ technically qualified staff and 4) be wary of ‘rebranded’ of products to make them look like they are use AI when they actually don't.

Ethical Deployment of AI

I was really struck with the courage Anthropic had posting the ‘When AI builds itself’. They cite their engineers being able to produce 8x as much code per quarter as they did from 2021-2025 and Claude now writing more than 80% of the code itself.  AI is now on a path to autonomously design and develop future versions of itself, a future referred to as recursive self-improvement.  This future could increase the risk of humans losing control.  We aren’t talking about Skynet or the Entity here, but this article does pose some thought-provoking issues.  Anthropic believes “…it would be good for the world to have the option to slow or temporarily pause frontier AI development to enable societal structures and alignment research to keep up with the advance of the technology” … but how realistic is that?

Recently I heard an article about Leó Szilárd, a key scientist in the Manhattan project.  When Germany surrendered in early May of 1945, he strongly felt using the bombs on Japan was unnecessary and gathered a petition of top scientists to argue this position with President Truman.  Despite this request for a pause, and roughly 70 scientists joining him, the US proceeded with the bombings a few months later. In later writings, Szilárd reflected that many scientists were focused on solving the scientific and technical problems, not debating about the political, military, or moral consequences.  Are we so focused on the scientific and technical aspect of AI that we are doing the same thing?

Pope Leo XIV weighed in as the world’s foremost canary in the coal mine by publishing Magnifica Humanitas, “Magnificent Humanity”, regarding the use of AI and the implications of it.  I’m still chewing through it, but in essence he focuses on the uniqueness and value of humanity because of their creation in God’s image.  He emphasizes that AI has the potential to displace workers and that we as a society should be mindful of the dignity of work and be looking for ways to retrain staff so they can still contribute to the relational fabric and economic value of an organization.  He warns particularly against situations where “…every person must earn or justify his or her own worth, to the point of attributing greater value to those who are more efficient or effective. From this perspective, persons end up being reduced to a means of achieving results, a resource to be used and exploited, and are no longer recognized as a proper end in themselves who should never be instrumentalized.” 

I remember how big of a shock it was at a former employer when the long-term front desk receptionist was 'restructured' after an ownership change and replaced by a digital visitor management system.  The culture of the company changed in a subtle but impactful way.  It said, we now care more about profitability at this site than we care about how people are welcomed when they come here.

I encourage all of us to follow the Pope's lead and set for a high bar when embracing this technology.  Drive these improvements, embrace this technology, but make sure your team comes along for the ride and that all employees benefit from the boost to the P&L and the overall increase in value of the company.