2 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #1: Why AI Needs a Control Plane
Most AI programs begin as a collection of isolated tools while different departments build their own copilots, bots, and AI features.
Topic
AI Operations
The operating models, workflows, and review cadences companies use to run AI inside production work.
Start Here
A few useful paths through AI Operations
Series Index
The AI Control Plane
Start with the complete table of contents for operating AI systems.
Series Index AI Quality SystemsUse the index for evals, quality gates, feedback loops, and operating discipline.
Series Index The AI Context LayerStart from the index for context, memory, retrieval, and workflow state.
Related Hubs
Move sideways by problem area.
3 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #4: Model Routing and Capability Tiers
Most companies start by choosing a specific AI model, but they should ultimately build a routing policy to manage different capability tiers.
3 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #3: Tool Access and Action Boundaries
Tool access should be divided into discovery, preparation, and execution, with autonomy calibrated to reversibility and risk. Verb-level limits, dry runs, and approval gates let agents act usefully without granting every workflow the same blast radius.
3 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #2: Identity and Permissions
Safe AI autonomy begins with explicit agent identity: who owns the workflow, whose authority it uses, and which actions, tools, and data scopes it may access. Narrow, revocable permissions turn accountability from fog into an operating control.
3 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #6: Memory and Context Governance
AI systems are only as useful as the context they can access and only as safe as the information they are allowed to retain.
3 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #5: Budgets and Usage Controls
AI budgets belong close to runtime behavior, where ownership, workflow-level limits, routing, and outcome signals can shape spending before invoices arrive. The goal is disciplined investment tied to accepted value and quality, not blunt cost cutting.
2 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #9: Escalation and Human Review
Human in the loop" sounds responsible until you ask where the reviewer sits, what they review, how much time they have, and their authority.
2 min read
The AI Control Plane Series #8: Observability and Audit Logs
Useful AI observability links technical traces to operational evidence: authority, context, tool calls, cost, approvals, edits, and final actions tied to business objects. That audit trail makes failures reconstructable and quiet deterioration visible before it becomes folklore.