{{first_name | Hi}}, your strategic AI update is here.
The C-suite thinks AI is saving time because they don’t see the work, OpenAI is now taxing the innovation it sells, and the very definition of a job is being rewritten. Meanwhile, 75% of CEOs are now in charge of AI. The disconnect between the strategy in the boardroom and the reality on the ground has never been more expensive.
In today's lineup:
Robots
AI is no longer the CIO’s problem to solve
Real ROI from Gen AI
Your guide to AI agent teammates
People
Christian Ulbrich puts people at the center of real estate AI
Love
Harness productive skepticism
Transformative Reads: Zero to One by Peter Thiel
ROBOTS 🤖
How are robotics and AI changing industries? We break down the latest news, tools, and innovations for you.
Top Insights
The C-suite thinks AI is saving time because they aren't the ones using it.
OpenAI's new business model is a tax on its customers' innovation.
The value of an employee is shifting from their title to the problems they can solve.
Are AI agents ready for the workplace? A new benchmark raises doubts.
The entire AI boom is built on a supply chain that's one geopolitical crisis away from collapse.
AI is no longer the CIO’s problem to solve
Nearly 75% of CEOs are now the primary decision-maker on AI, according to a 2026 BCG report. The job has moved from the server room to the boardroom, making AI the center of enterprise reinvention. With leaders in charge, the focus must shift from isolated pilots to a strategy that delivers business results.
What leaders should do now:
Make AI a core business capability, moving it beyond the IT department.
Align top-level strategy with the on-the-ground priorities of IT teams.
Mandate a governance framework that measures the ROI of every AI initiative.
Focus investment on agentic AI systems that automate complex workflows and can deliver measurable returns this year.
As CEOs take charge of the AI agenda, what is the biggest barrier holding your organization back?
Real ROI from Gen AI
How human-centric AI delivers business results
Jabil's AI shop floor assistant, built on AWS, reduced data processing times by 74% and cut new project deployments by over 70%.
The Colac Herald uses Google's Gemini to write real estate ad copy, cutting the time spent on each listing from 25 minutes down to just three.
Clearwater Analytics built its AI platform on Amazon Bedrock, enabling the firm to grow its business by 20% without adding headcount.
Tool Spotlight
Your weekly briefing on tools that create competitive leverage
Your guide to AI agent teammates
Best for teams that want to automate complex software workflows using natural language. It acts like an AI assistant that can learn and perform multi-step tasks across your existing enterprise applications.
Choose if you need to:
Automate processes that span multiple, complex programs.
Empower non-technical users to create their own automations.
Build a library of shareable, executable skills for your team.
Best for engineering and tech teams looking to automate software development tasks. Its agent, Devin, is positioned as the first AI software engineer that can handle entire development projects from a single prompt.
Choose if you need to:
Accelerate coding, debugging, and deployment cycles.
Tackle entire engineering projects with an AI agent.
Free up senior developers to focus on architecture and strategy.
3 other platforms to explore...
PEOPLE 👥
Meet the innovators turning bold ideas into real-world impact.
Transformation Champion
Christian Ulbrich puts people at the center of real estate AI
While the real estate industry was focused on tech, JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich argued that success in AI depends on people. His challenge was moving AI from a tool for data analysis to a system that augments the expertise of his 50,000 brokers. He championed a proprietary generative AI platform that gives his team instant access to internal market data, cutting research time from hours to minutes. As he wrote for the World Economic Forum, this human-centric approach turns AI into a partner, not just a processor.
LOVE ❤️
Practical wisdom, growth tactics, and a must-read book that will challenge the way you think.
Harness productive skepticism
Your biggest skeptics understand what breaks. That makes them your most valuable innovators.
Put your biggest skeptic in charge of fixing a broken process. They know what fails, so they’ll build a solution that actually works.
Give them a sandbox where they can’t break critical operations. Making their skepticism part of the process forces them to be constructive.
Ship small, focused improvements, not disruptive overhauls. When skeptics see their concerns are addressed, they become advocates.
Transformative Reads
One book, handpicked from my conversations with friends, industry leaders, and tech innovators:
Zero to One by Peter Thiel argues that true innovation is not about competing, but creating entirely new markets. It challenges the common mindset of incremental improvement and pushes leaders to build unique businesses that can define their own category. The book is a direct guide to thinking about value creation from first principles.
Perfect for: Innovators, strategists, and founders aiming for breakthrough market creation.
In Culture
The market is starting to feel like SpongeBob, but the earnings calls still sound like Patrick.
THANK YOU!
Lighthouse takes us many hours to create, and we don’t run ads or charge anything. We are dedicated to making it the best AI transformation newsletter possible.
We just ask for one thing: tell one friend about Lighthouse today!
Want daily AI & Innovation insights? Connect with me on LinkedIn or X.
Got suggestions? Just reply to this email!
Much Love,
Matt and the Future Works team
