04 / AI Principles
AI Principles
The principles I run Vendasta on.
AI Principles is my set of ten operating principles for delegating work to AI while humans own direction, judgment and oversight.
By Brendan King · Last updated:
Key points
- Assign outcomes, not questions; measure completed work rather than time saved.
- Approval is adjustable: do it, do it and tell me, or ask first.
- Stay model-agnostic, preserve memory and win through partnership.
- AI does the work. Humans orchestrate.
Assign outcomes, not questions.
- The AI leads and has an opinion.
- Conversation is the front door.
The software recedes behind it.
- Approval is a dial, not a gate.
Do it. Do it and tell me. Ask me first.
- Memory is the job.
A correction is remembered once and applied forever.
- Routines are created by saying them.
- Measure work completed, not time saved.
- Use first principles to think 10X.
- Maximize optionality. Minimize lock-in.
We stay model-agnostic.
- Win through partnership.
Delegate, don't chat
If the default button on an AI employee is Chat, it is a persona on a chatbot. A real AI employee takes a job and runs with it.
Questions about AI Principles
What is the central AI principle?
AI does the work. Humans orchestrate. That means assigning outcomes instead of asking questions and keeping human attention on direction, judgment and oversight.
What does “approval is a dial” mean?
Different jobs need different levels of permission: do it, do it and tell me, or ask me first. Approval should reflect the job rather than blocking every action in the same way.
How should AI work be measured?
Measure work completed, not time saved. A real AI employee takes a job and runs with it; a chat interface alone does not establish that work was done.
What is Vendasta’s 80/20 AI orchestration model?
In my October 9, 2025 essay, I describe allocating 80 percent to AI execution and 20 percent to the oversight layer that directs it. It is a resource-allocation model, not a promise that every job is 80 percent automated.