Exactly. The tools aren't the rate limiting factor for me. I can automate an entire department right now with Claude but I can't because of regulations and audits. Basically, turning an error prone manual process into a probabilistic process that Claude would do far more accurately in the end than what we do now. The process wouldn't be "repeatable" though by the letter of the regulation so would open the company up to automated regulatory violations and existential fines. The technical issues for me are trivial but the regulations are insurmountable. The bubble is in the TAM. My work is exactly who Claude for Small Business would be aiming at but we can't do anything with these tools because of regulation. That is a huge % of the economy.

For me the much bigger problem is the data (and God knows what else) going to a third party. But yeah the non-repeatability doesn't pass the DoD audits either.

Makes me wonder though, how likely it is your field/industry/discipline/company/business is to be replaced by some small player who makes the risk, doesn't get caught or deterred early enough, and then either becomes large enough to sway the industry regulation or pay off or otherwise continue to deter enforcement onto them.

Isn't it the uber model? Isn't that likely where the future is to go with this new uncertain technology that will surely create new unthought of verticals?

The procurement and certification processes we go through are basically specifically designed to keep a scrappy startup with the next new idea from ever winning a contract without significant institutional buy-in, for reasons that will probably become clear as other sectors deal with the fallout of the past two fiscal quarters in maintenance costs