The AI Bandage

August 17, 2026

AI is a tool. Are you using it correctly?

AI is Everywhere

We all know AI is everywhere, and get to deal with it constantly. Like most new tools, there are pros and cons, possibilities and pitfalls, on how it applies within a workplace.

A large majority of my friends, connections, contacts, and associates are working through how to get the best advantages of it without vibe coding themselves out of a job. We are also working out how to establish effective guardrails and protections to mitigate the risks that such a powerful and 'black box' style tool brings. Information goes into a black box, things happen, and things come out. How do we get what we need at the incredibly accelerated pace that AI allows, and still ensure truth and accuracy? How do we know what happened in that black box?

It's a challenge that relies a lot on the human behind the keyboard; do they know the topic well enough to be able to spot errors? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The ones that do get criticized for 'AI tells' like em dashes and common structure patterns. I don't care as long as the point they are making is worthwhile – use the tools you have to transmit the correct information. On the other digital hand are the ones who don't know enough to understand what the correct information actually is. They have AI write an article, create an image, build a website, and they don't have the underlying skills to notice the full message. It may be close, there may be great points, but the whole thing is odd. It's the CGI uncanny valley all over again.

When I was teaching, I saw the same thing. The students that knew the material could have a discussion, could incorporate a new concept to build on their understanding. In contrast, a few students were clearly copying and pasting from the...oh what did we call those things – TEXTBOOKS, regurgitating statements they had memorized hoping that would be enough to get them by.

There's always been content that feels this way, a jumble of somewhat related statements pushed together, leading toward some sort of point, but AI is really taking it to a new level. The good thing is, if you are able to think critically and pay attention for more than a few seconds, you can spot who's using AI as a tool, and who's using AI to cover their own lack of knowledge.

Back to the Point: The AI Bandage

You might think that this is the 'AI Bandage' the article title refers to. There is an accurate conceptual connection but that's not where I'm going this time. I only mentioned the above to introduce the importance of pre-existing knowledge. There is a level of existing expertise required to be able to evaluate if your AI output makes sense.

The bandage I want to discuss this time is more technical, and more concerning to me. Every time my digital warrior friends and I gather to discuss how AI is being adopted and integrated into their business, a similar line comes up: We couldn't organize our CRM, mail platform, ocean of spreadsheets, database full of client activity records, etc. so we just threw it into AI and had it sort it out. At first, this is a not a bad idea. AI tools were built to ingest, process, and understand large amounts of information, and this seems the perfect use case. It may be able to tell you stuff about your information that you would have never discovered on your own. Like magic. I love magic, too! But I also understand that magic is just process with some of the steps hidden, and that is where I see problems. Magic works because the magician knows ALL the information, and understands which you should see, and which needs to stay hidden.

AI is built on our information. The information we put into it is the knowledge that all its output is based on. I've come into several companies and rebuilt their CRMs, organized their document libraries, consolidated their corporate and personal drive files into an accurate 'source of truth'. I've weeded through thousands of crap files, project false starts, completely incorrect spreadsheets full of incomplete and incorrect client data, so I know what can be stored in a corporate file server. Sometimes it's like a hoarder convention had a yard sale that got hit by a tornado. So when I hear, "Let's just let AI sort through it", my stomach tightens up. I know there are guaranteed to be a lot of errors and mistakes in that pile of detritus, and that means they will be used to build up that knowledge base.

This is the bandage I'm referring to today. As more companies decide to incorporate AI tools into their work streams, many are skipping over the critical step of understanding what they currently have. Their system is broken and bleeding, but they are ready to spray it with ivermectin, tape some AI gauze over it, and go on their happy way. They don't know where they are, so how will they know if AI got them where they want to be? It will give very confident and even enthusiastic answers, but are they right? And is there anyone with the knowledge and understanding to be able to review the output and ask "Is this correct?" Is there a real doctor in the house???

What To Do

Is it sensible to go through all of your CRM and clean up every field and value before you point an AI at it? Should you traverse your file server, open all your documents one by one, then move them into sensible folders and subfolders? Hell no. I've done that an it's no fun. Computers don't even think it's fun. But you should have an understanding of your information. You should run reports to understand what's complete and what's not, what's redundant, what's conflicting, and what you just don't need anymore. You can even have AI help you do it, then use it as your knowledge base. Put fresh, accurate information into the black box, and you'll get better results out the other end. Information you can trust.

Is this a gross generalization of this entire topic? Of course. It was free and only a few paragraphs. If you want a deep dive, reach out and I'll connect you with people who really understand how to prepare for AI.