The same large technology companies that spent two years telling everyone AI adoption is essential are now blocking AI tools from their own websites, or demanding that anyone who uses AI disclose it in public posts.

I get the other side. Unrestricted access could flood their sites and raise costs. But these same companies have used AI for years — phone systems, chat, proofreading, recommendation engines — and turned it into billions. AI isn't new. What's new is that smaller operators finally have the tools that used to require staff.

I'm a one-person business. No assistant, no marketing agency, no IT team. AI lets me draft, structure, proof and format work that still starts with my ideas, my knowledge of the market and my judgment on the final result. The thinking and decisions stay with the owner.

History is full of industries that fought the next technology instead of adapting. Quartz watches and the Swiss watchmakers. The automobile and the horse and buggy. The electronic calculator and the abacus. Kodak and digital photography. Blockbuster and streaming. Adapt or cease operations.

Large organizations embed AI without scrutiny, while independents are told to do everything by hand or put a disclaimer on their work. That's not a level playing field.

If the goal is real competition and productivity, the rules around AI should apply evenly — not just to the people who can't afford the old way of doing things.

"The horror… the horror."

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For the solo operators here: are you using AI in your business, and has anyone pushed back on you for it?