Where AI Meets the Real World of Work

AI at Work

AI at Work is hosted by Matt Graham (CEO of Rapid Dev) and Kevin Williams (CEO of Ascend Labs). Each week delivers actionable insights on how artificial intelligence is reshaping jobs today, and how you can use it to advance your career. We unpack real-world tools, automation workflows, and emerging roles so you can stop chasing hype and start using AI to get things done. Whether you’re an individual contributor, team lead, or business owner, we show you what to build, what to ask for, and what to look for in a workplace moving at machine-speed.

How to build with AI when you’re not a full-time developer, plus OpenAI’s Dot agent doing a month of work in a day. Kevin Williams and AI developer Vlad Larin.

Vlad Larin went from managing a 250-person delivery team to building with AI himself, and he argues the skill that separates good AI builders from bad vibe coders is the same one that separated good developers from bad ones: vision, architecture, and knowing what the product is supposed to do. Kevin Williams and Vlad compare build setups, test OpenAI’s Dot, and talk about what AI subscriptions are likely to cost.

In this episode:

– Why a decade of untangling client requirements translates to building with AI

– Vlad’s setup: Codex plan mode, GitHub, Supabase, and Vercel

– Gaslighting Codex as an “unofficial turbo mode” (and when it backfires)

– Dot catching a missing meeting invite and bills due, unprompted

– Kevin’s 100-ad Meta campaign run hands-off with computer use

– Why $500 a month is justifiable and $5,000 would stunt the market

Thanks to our new Sponsor LiberNovo and their insanely supportive Omni Chair: https://libernovo.com/

To try out Muse and get a BILLION tokens use code: RHYQ60 https://muse.ai/join (full disclosure, we will get a billion tokens too… but aren’t sure how we will use them)

Ready to find out where your organization actually stands on AI readiness?

https://assessment.ascendlabs.ai/

Want to talk through your AI tool decisions before you commit?

tidycal.com/kevinwilliams

CHECK OUT KEVIN’S STUFF:

Website: https://ascendlabs.ai/
LinkedIn: https://www.google.com/search?q=https… –
Free Tool: Take the https://assessment.ascendlabs.ai/
Deep Dive: Read the https://resources.ascendlabs.ai/opena…
Book a Call: https://www.google.com/search?q=https…

VLAD LARIN:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlad-larin/