Skip to content
Join 7,000+ leaders following Alastair's work on LinkedIn.

The Boring AI Manifesto

Last updated 15 April 2026 Published 11 January 2026

Boring is underrated.

I like my elevators to be boring.

I like my seatbelt to be boring.

The best AI projects are the ones nobody talks about.

They just work.

I want technology to do the boring work so you can do the interesting work.

Exciting, experimental tools often break.

I use boring tools to kill boring tasks.

I measure success in time reclaimed, not prompts engineered.

The most valuable AI pilot gives someone their Friday evening back.

AI earns its place through results. The goal is getting work done better.

Boring is what "near-magic" tech looks like when it's working.

Start with boring. Prove value fast.

Update 21st Jan:

  1. The Boring AI Manifesto is an excerpt from my new book "The AI Pilot Handbook", now available on Amazon.
  2. I wrote more about "Why Boring is Interesting" to explain my thinking in this manifesto.

Related Articles

AI Strategy

Don't bet your strategy on what AI can't do

Copy for AIHere's a bet I see businesses make without realising they're making it. They look at what AI can't do today, they build their plans around those limits, and they treat those limits as fixed. It's an unspoken bet, and it's a losing one. It loses because the thing you're betting against keeps moving. […]
Jun 21, 2026
Read more
AI Strategy

The best AI work is boring

Copy for AIThe AI work I trust most is the work that looks boring. There's no clever prompt, no amazing inspiration, no surprises. It does the same boring thing every time, and that is exactly why I trust it. Most people reach for AI's cleverness first and its dependability second. I strongly believe you need […]
Jun 21, 2026
Read more
AI Strategy

The most useful AI works when you're not watching

The most useful AI works while you're not watching - and the barrier usually isn't a cleverer model, it's permission. A plain-English guide to the Permission Ladder: how much autonomy you give an AI, the access it costs, and why onboarding it like a new hire is the right mental model.
Jun 20, 2026
Read more
AI in Practice

AI just came for design

Copy for AIAnthropic just launched Claude Design yesterday. Before I say what I think about the tool, I want to tell you about a story I read earlier in the week from BEFORE the launch. The story came from a designer called Nurkhon, writing on Substack. A product manager walked into a meeting, typed one […]
Apr 18, 2026
Read more

Is your business AI ready?

  • Get honest, practical AI advice
  • Find out where AI saves the most time
  • No hard sell - just an honest conversation
Alastair McDermott

25 mins · Free · No obligation

Book a Focus Call