Screaming in the Cloud

The AI Productivity Gap with Keith Townsend

12 snips
Dec 11, 2025
Guest
Keith Townsend
In this engaging discussion, Keith Townsend, founder of The CTO Advisor and an expert in cloud and AI, reveals the stark contrast between AI hype and its real-world application. He shares a cautionary tale about a biopharma company's rejection of Microsoft Copilot, highlighting enterprise fear of reputational risk. Keith also explores how AI has boosted his personal productivity tenfold, while cautioning that enterprises treat powerful tools like 'radioactive material.' The conversation touches on AI’s strengths in productivity but warns of its limitations in judgment, underscoring the challenges enterprises face in adoption.
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ANECDOTE

Big Company Rejected Copilot

  • Keith Townsend shares that a large biopharma CTO gave Microsoft Copilot a firm "no" despite heavy Microsoft 365 usage.
  • The CTO questioned what end users would actually do with Copilot and refused the per-user cost for 24,000 employees.
ADVICE

Build Fast, But Don't Ship Recklessly

  • Use Cursor and similar tools to build apps even if you're not an expert in every part of the stack.
  • But avoid putting AI-built tools into production without proper oversight and testing.
ADVICE

Use AI To Accelerate Writing Workflows

  • Tune AI models and prompt workflows to speed content creation and iteration.
  • Use AI to draft posts quickly but always edit and fact-check before publishing.
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