Three AI Bets Every Services Business Is Already Making

I gave a talk in Paris on AI acceleration. Not the "here's how to write better prompts" kind - the "where are you actually placing your chips" kind.

Category:
Future of Learning
Published:
February 27, 2026
Author:
Howard

I gave a talk in Paris on AI acceleration. Not the "here's how to write better prompts" kind - the "where are you actually placing your chips" kind.

I shared three bets every services business is already making. Whether they've named them or not.

1. Talent. Why your juniors might have better AI stacks for their side-gigs than you provide for your global clients.

2. Model. Why the billable hour is becoming indefensible. Again.

3. Positioning. Why the shift isn't about adoption - it's about orchestration. And why the CFO knows this before you do.

Link below if you want 25 minutes on AI's iPhone moment, poker chips, a Nokia 3310, and weird stuff in my fridge.

This talk was at mci groups' business academy event. Mci builds experiences for a living - and it showed. Production, content and vibes were all top. I met so many cool people from around the planet.

Thanks to their team - especially Avinash and Barbara - for making it happen.

PS. My laptop was asleep when I walked on stage. Screen-saver, password prompt, 360 people waiting, mci's CEO in the front row - directly in my eye-line. Perhaps the gods were testing whether I believed my own material.