Why 70–80% of AI Projects Never Make It Past the Pilot Stage
UiPath CMO Michael Atalla says the core issue behind failing AI initiatives is a lack of coordination — tools running in isolation, disconnected from each other and from business goals.
“AI pilots almost always run in isolation. One agent in one corner of the business. One automation in another. No visibility between them,” Atalla told The Rundown. “The organizations getting past that stage stopped treating AI agents as tools to deploy. They started treating them as components of a larger, governed workflow.”
Nearly half of organizations now call AI a “massive disappointment” despite heavy investment. Atalla says the fix isn’t a motivation problem — it’s a coordination problem. “Start with where work begins, where it gets handed off, where decisions get made. The tech choices get much clearer.”
AI’s Job Anxiety Is Real — But So Is the Nuance
Entry-level dev jobs dropped nearly 20% since 2024 while senior roles grew. UiPath’s CEO said the goal is to “grow without growing headcount.” But Atalla pushes back on the idea that human involvement is becoming optional.
“An LLM cannot ask ‘should we?’ It has no motivation, no taste, no instinct for risk,” Atalla said. “Every system we deploy still needs humans to oversee it, make judgment calls, and apply it in ways that add value. The role evolves. The need does not go away.”
New roles are emerging around workflow design, AI governance, and end-to-end process ownership. “My daughter is 13. When she applies to colleges in five years, the jobs she’ll be competing for probably haven’t been named yet.”
EMDR: The Trauma Treatment That Focuses on Eye Movements
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing uses bilateral stimulation — side-to-side eye movements combined with sounds or tapping — to help process traumatic memories. Created in 1987, it replicates aspects of REM sleep.
Some experts are skeptical that the eye movements matter, arguing positive reactions are a placebo effect. A University of Washington psychologist called EMDR’s explanations akin to “neurobabble.”