Erin Moore — Fractional Chief AI Officer
    Vol. VII — Writing
    The JournalEssays & Field Notes

    Practical writing on AI in the wild.

    Field notes from real engagements. Frameworks, postmortems, and the unglamorous discipline of shipping AI in production.

    Tagged: Vendor Evaluation
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    Showing 1–5 of 5 essays

    AI Vendor Lock-In Is a Purchase-Time Decision
    AI Strategy··3 min read

    AI Vendor Lock-In Is a Purchase-Time Decision

    Lock-in feels like a renewal problem. It is created on the day you sign, and it is cheap to prevent then.

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    The AI Vendor Security Questions Worth Asking
    AI Governance··3 min read

    The AI Vendor Security Questions Worth Asking

    Most security questionnaires are long and answer nothing. Twelve questions get you further, if you read the replies properly.

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    Six Clauses to Negotiate in Any AI Contract
    AI Strategy··3 min read

    Six Clauses to Negotiate in Any AI Contract

    The price is the least negotiable thing in an AI contract, and the least important. Here are the six that matter.

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    Nine AI Vendor Red Flags Worth Walking Away From
    AI Strategy··4 min read

    Nine AI Vendor Red Flags Worth Walking Away From

    Some warning signs are worth a question. These nine are worth ending the conversation.

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    Build vs Buy AI: A Decision Most Companies Get Backwards
    AI Strategy··4 min read

    Build vs Buy AI: A Decision Most Companies Get Backwards

    The build-versus-buy question is not about capability or cost. It is about whether the thing is a differentiator, and most companies answer it backwards.

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    FAQ

    Common questions

    What does this blog cover?
    AI strategy and leadership decisions for growing businesses: what a Chief AI Officer actually does, how to evaluate vendors, how to measure return, and why most AI projects fail. It is written for people deciding what to fund, not for people building models.
    How often is it updated?
    New pieces publish regularly, and existing ones are revised when the underlying facts change — pricing, market rates and vendor landscapes move quickly enough that stale posts become misleading rather than merely dated.
    Who writes it?
    Erin Moore, a fractional Chief AI Officer and U.S. Army veteran with an Executive MBA, an MS in Data Science and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Everything is written from the buyer's side of the table, which is where the work happens.
    Where should I start?
    If you are new to the topic, start with what a fractional Chief AI Officer does and why most AI projects fail. If you are already spending on AI, the posts on AI audits and measuring ROI will be more immediately useful.