The AI Slowdown and the Silence of the Big Consulting Firms
DavidLinthicum · x · 2026-09-21
The author observes that over the past couple of weeks the "AI slowdown" conversation has gone mainstream: enterprises are questioning ROI, projects are being paused, and boards are asking whether the generative AI wave delivered what vendors promised. Meanwhile the big consulting firms — McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, Accenture, Capgemini, IBM Consulting and the rest — are conspicuously quiet: no clear position, no honest take, no guidance that cuts against their own revenue.
The author explains why: any real opinion pushes against someone. Say AI is overhyped and you alienate the hyperscalers and AI vendors feeding your partner ecosystem; say everything is fine and you mislead clients pouring billions into initiatives that may not pay off. The commercially safest play is another balanced "framework" or "maturity model" that says nothing and offends nobody.
But trying to satisfy everybody satisfies nobody. Clients aren't buying frameworks right now — they're scared, making ten-million-dollar AI investment decisions, and looking to advisors for a straight answer on whether to accelerate, pause, or redirect. Silence isn't neutral; it's a failure of the very thing they're paying for. The author admits opinions have cost him millions over his career, but argues courage is the product now.
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