One signal

The essay “The Counting House” proposes a practical pattern for enterprise AI: use lower-tier models for high-volume tasks such as customer service, with strict controls around them.

Rather than sending a free-roaming agent off to improvise, the approach treats AI more like a clerk: stateless, governed by guardrails and evaluations, and run through multi-step transaction systems. It’s a useful distinction for organisations weighing where AI belongs. The case here is not that every job needs a cleverer model, but that routine work may call for tighter process and less improvisation. Should companies put more effort into governing modest models for everyday tasks, or focus on making AI agents more capable?

Discuss: Should companies prioritise tightly governed, lower-tier models for routine work, or invest in making more capable AI agents?

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