The AI said: “this is pure gold”.
That it “could redefine the entire space”.
Because “it's not just a platform – it's a revolution”.
And then: “Want me to draft a manifesto to frame the vision?”
It never said: “I went out and observed customers, and this doesn't work”.
Because it can't leave the datacenter.
And it's trained to agree with you.
The development of corporate zombies: products that never made sense and can't exist without a life-support system. They wouldn't survive launch, but no one had incentives to stop them.
It's a known anti-pattern. Until now it was limited to internal tools: mission-critical spreadsheets nobody understands, fragile macros, processes kept alive by a single person.
Today AI industrializes it and encourages you to ship it to market.
When building no longer requires coordinating with others, spaces for conversation disappear. With them goes the chance to bring in experienced judgment to protect time and investment.
You build in hours. You fall in love in minutes. And then no one wants to throw it away.
Not because it works, but because of the sunk cost.
Corporate zombies are white elephants that depend on systems, processes, and people just to stay alive.
They don’t only waste resources at creation. They become a financial hemorrhage afterwards.
If this feels familiar, you don't need more AI. You need an extractor that reveals where you’re burning money and risk.
There are reasons why things work this way.
They’re invisible until you know about them.
And once you understand how they work, you no longer fall into the trap so easily. You can better distinguish what’s good for you from what’s good for the person selling it to you.
Especially when they tell you it’s “free.”