AI advice from someone who builds AI software

I don't just talk about AI. I've shipped it.

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You've seen the clickbait articles:

“AI is taking over the world!”

“AI is going to take your job!”

So how much truth is there behind these alarmist headlines?

Well, to be honest, some.

You're probably skeptical about AI.

Believe me, I was too.

Jason Hanley on a hillside above the water

Hi, my name is Jason, and I was a full-blown AI skeptic.

If you had asked me about AI before the launch of ChatGPT, I would have told you that we were making slow and steady progress, but anything close to "human-like" intelligence was still a long way off.

That all changed on November 30, 2022 when ChatGPT went public.

At first I thought it was some sort of hack or parlour trick.

But after really putting it to the test, I knew that "this time was different."

People always say that, but this time it was actually true. 😀

So I did what I've done for my entire career: I started building. Everything I recommend today is something I have used in a real project, measured, and often been burned by first.

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Everyone is an AI expert now

There are lots of AI experts out there.

And that's a good thing! Everybody should be learning about AI.

But "AI expert" covers a very wide range of expertise:

Experience prompting a basic AI chatbot like ChatGPT or Gemini.
Experience with more complex AI software like Perplexity, Midjourney, ElevenLabs, HeyGen, and others.
Experience using "no code" tools like Make/Zapier/n8n to integrate AI workflows.
Experience building software using APIs from OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), Meta (Llama), and others.
Experience building, training, and fine-tuning custom models for specific applications.

42% of companies abandoned most of their AI initiatives in 2025.¹ Only 26% have the capability to get past proof of concept.² The problem usually isn't the AI. It's that the people advising on it have never had to make it work in production.

Ask any AI consultant which level they work at. A surprising number stop at 3.

I work at levels 4 and 5. I've been building with the OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google APIs since the day each one was released, and I have the code to prove it.

That matters, because the advice you get from someone who has only used AI tools is very different from the advice you get from someone who has built with them, paid the API bills, and watched real users break them.

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¹ S&P Global Market Intelligence, survey of 1,000+ enterprises in North America and Europe, March 2025. Up from 17% in 2024. Reported by CIO Dive.

² Boston Consulting Group, “Where’s the Value in AI?”, survey of 1,000 executives across 59 countries, October 2024.

Three ways I can help

Every engagement starts small and only grows if it's working. Pick the step that fits where you are.

1. Advise

Not sure where AI fits in your business? Start with a one-hour Exploration Call, or go deeper with an AI Audit that maps out exactly which processes are worth automating and which aren't.

2. Build

Found something worth building? I design and build custom AI software, from an internal tool that saves your team an hour a day to a full product. The portfolio shows the kind of thing I mean.

3. Run

Have a team or a product but nobody senior owning the technical decisions? As a Fractional CTO I take that on for a few hours a week, without the full-time hire.

I build with these tools every day

Since the OpenAI API was released, I've been building AI-powered software that just wasn't possible before advanced LLMs hit the scene.

That hands-on experience is what lets me give you straight answers to questions like:

What does AI do well, and what does it struggle with?
What capabilities are available now, and what's coming soon?
How much will using these capabilities actually cost?
Which specific models, tools, and APIs are best for a particular task?
What about legal or regulatory concerns?

An exploratory call is a great way to start the conversation and get your feet wet.

Or, if you're ready to dive in with a comprehensive plan, an AI Audit can get you up and running quickly.

Explore the possibilities
Specific AI tool recommendations
AI policy suggestions
A one-hour phone or video call

Canadian business? Your AI project may qualify for BDC LIFT financing or an NRC IRAP contribution. Here's what's actually available.

You talk to me

Syllogistic Software is me, Jason Hanley. I founded it in 2003 and I've spent my whole career building software and running software projects, most recently from near Metro Vancouver.

When you email, I answer. When we book a call, I'm the one on it. When something gets built, I'm the one building it.

There's no account manager, no sales team, and no junior consultant learning on your project.

Let's Chat

Not ready for a call yet? No worries!

Send me an email and tell me about your business or project that you think might benefit from AI: contact@sylsft.com