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Sathyan Nandagopal
Free Lesson

When NOT to Use AI — a Product Leader's Filter

60 min
Nov 30, 2026 9:00 PM

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What you'll learn

Spot the problem shapes where AI backfires

Recognize the three shapes — determinism needed, high error cost, a cheap deterministic tool already wins.

Run the four-axis filter as tripwires

Use reversibility, error cost, data, and human trust as stops — any one in the red halts or redesigns.

Defend "not here" to a stakeholder

Turn "should we use AI?" from a vibe into a decision you can defend to someone who wants the model in.

Why this topic matters

I watch teams bolt a model onto everything, like a kid with a hammer seeing only nails. It demos beautifully; then the eleventh input is flaky and the queue fills with confident wrong answers. The idea this hour proves: AI is a tool with a wrong end, and most disappointment comes from gripping it there. So I give the inverse of every "how to use AI" course: a four-axis filter — reversibility, error cost, data, trust — for the honest "not this."

You'll learn from

Sathyan Nandagopal

Sathyan Nandagopal

AI Product Leader & Advisor. 6 AI products; '5D Method' ; IDW 2026 Speaker

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