AI Without Infrastructure Is Just Theater

Behind the dazzling demos and slide decks lies a harder truth: most enterprise AI fails before it starts. Here’s what it actually takes to build systems that scale.

At the ABBYY AI Summit in Vienna last week, a line I delivered offhandedly seemed to ripple through the room with unexpected gravity:

“AI without infrastructure is just theater.”

It wasn’t a flashy line. It wasn’t built for applause. But it was one of those moments where time stretched slightly — the air shifted, people leaned in, and I could sense a shared recognition. There it was: a truth everyone had felt but perhaps hadn’t said aloud.

Because most of us have been there. We’ve seen the prototype chatbot that doesn’t really help customers. The shiny slide deck announcing “AI Strategy 2024.” The pilot project built in isolation, launched with fanfare, then quietly sunsetted. It’s a pattern that’s repeated across industries. And too often, what looks like transformation from the outside is little more than illusion. It’s innovation theater. And the curtain drops fast.

Hype That Collapses

We are now deep into what could be called the “AI compression moment.” The technology is real. Its potential is vast. But in most enterprises, the readiness to absorb, integrate, and…