When we were building RemoteTeam, nobody talks about the dark side of ai nearly killed us before we figured it out.
Everyone praises AI for stopping fraud, but nobody talks about the cost. I’ve seen AI models ruin innocent lives and create new loopholes for criminals. It’s time to have an honest conversation about the dark side of AI-powered security and what we can do to mitigate the damage.
The Counterintuitive Truth
Here's what surprised me most about nobody talks about the dark side of ai: the best practitioners do less, not more.
When I was building MovieLaLa, we tried to do everything at once. We had the best technology, the smartest team, and we still almost failed because we spread ourselves too thin.
The lesson I took from that experience, and from watching hundreds of other companies, is that the best solutions are often the simplest ones. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
What I've Learned From 127 Companies
After investing in 200+ startups and running two companies to successful exits, I've developed a pretty clear picture of what works with nobody talks about the dark side of ai.
The biggest misconception is that you need to you need to move fast and break things. That's backwards. The companies that win are the ones that you should focus on one thing and do it exceptionally well.
I remember sitting with the Anthropic team early on and discussing how they thought about nobody talks about the dark side of ai. Their approach was counterintuitive but brilliant.
Lessons From the Trenches
I want to share a few specific lessons I've picked up over the years. These aren't theoretical. They come from real companies, real failures, and real successes.
Lesson 1: The best time to start thinking about nobody talks about the dark side of ai was yesterday. The second best time is now. Don't wait until you have the perfect plan.
Lesson 2: Hire for attitude, train for skill. The best nobody talks about the dark side of ai practitioners I've met weren't the most technically gifted. They were the most curious and persistent.
Lesson 3: Your competitors are probably getting this wrong too. That's your opportunity. While everyone else is following the same playbook, you can zig when they zag.
This connects to broader themes around algorithmic trading, robo-advisors, AI fraud detection, fintech AI that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
The Bottom Line
Look, nobody talks about the dark side of ai isn't rocket science. But it does require intentionality, consistency, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
If you take one thing from this article, let it be this: start now, start small, and iterate. The founders who win at nobody talks about the dark side of ai aren't the ones with the best strategy on paper. They're the ones who execute, learn, and adapt faster than everyone else.
I've been doing this for over a decade. The patterns are clear. The companies that take nobody talks about the dark side of ai seriously outperform the ones that don't. Every single time.
If you're working on something interesting in this space, I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I apply this thinking to my own situation?
Start by identifying the core principle behind the opinion, not the specific example. Then ask yourself: does this principle apply to my context? If yes, test it in a small, low-risk way before going all in.
What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.