On why most Indiana CEOs feel behind on AI.
Bryce Carpenter
COO, Conexus Indiana
About
Harrison
Painter.
Founder · LaunchReady.ai
Author · You Have Already Been Replaced by AI
Host · AI Ready Podcast
Builder · AI Law Tracker
AI either cuts a cost or grows a revenue line. I build the standard for how teams get there.
Our Thesis
The white-collar factory
is closing.
The corporate org chart most companies still use was built by the Romans for moving information across an empire when human beings were the only intelligence available. AI just collapsed the cost of running it. The companies that restructure compound. The ones that bolt AI onto the old hierarchy do not.
“You are not crazy. You were just early.”
This is the foundational thesis behind everything LaunchReady builds: the framework, the assessment, the engagement, the books.
Read the manifestoThe Story
Twenty years building things
that work.
I help executives deploy AI that cuts costs or grows revenue. Twenty years of building businesses, and the last three of building the standard for what AI-ready actually looks like inside a real organization.
Before AI I built brands and ran growth for two decades. I founded a company that sold to a public company. I worked in Hollywood with leaders in sports and entertainment. Those years taught me what actually moves organizations forward, which turns out to be people, judgment, and the willingness to ship.
Late 2022, ChatGPT. I spent the next year putting AI in front of executives, students, and incarcerated learners across Indiana. I built the first AI studio inside a major Indiana university's master's program. I led the state's first AI workshops for business leaders. I led the first AI Certification Course at Ivy Tech Community College. My approach pairs artificial intelligence with emotional intelligence because the bottleneck is rarely the tool.
Today I run LaunchReady.ai. The 7 Levels of AI Proficiency is our framework. You Have Already Been Replaced by AI publishes June 2, 2026. The AI Law Tracker is referenced by Indiana state compliance officials and was built solo in 20 hours. Everything I do answers one question: what does AI-ready actually look like inside a working organization?
Live now on Amazon · Paperback, Kindle, and Workbook
You have already been
replaced by AI.
What happens next is up to you.
See the book →Track Record
A record of doing things
first.
Selected work and firsts from the last four years of building AI capability in Indiana and beyond.
2022
Discovered ChatGPT
The pivot moment. Every project on this page traces back to that week.
2023
Wrote Indiana's first AI for Small Business book
Best-seller. The on-ramp that became the framework that became the company.
2023
Launched the AI Ready Podcast
2.8 million YouTube views. 10,000+ subscribers. Practical AI for people who need results.
2023
Co-founded Blaizing Academy at Indiana Wesleyan University
Built the first AI studio inside a major Indiana university's master's program.
2024
Co-founded AI Fusion Conference
Indiana's first hands-on AI conference. Built it because the state needed a place where business leaders could actually do AI, not just hear about it.
2024
Co-created AI Protege
The nation's first high school AI internship program.
2025
Founded LaunchReady.ai
The AI Proficiency Standard. The framework, the assessment, and the engagement.
2025
Taught Indiana's first AI class in prison
Putnamville Correctional Facility, via Ivy Tech Community College.
2025
Led the first AI Certification Course at Ivy Tech
The state's first community college AI certification.
2026
Built AI Law Tracker
Free, public reference tool for Indiana AI legislation. Referenced by state compliance officials. Built solo in 20 hours.
2026
Published the 7 Levels of AI Proficiency framework
The only published proficiency framework in the market. Free assessment at assess.launchready.ai.
April 24, 2026
You Have Already Been Replaced by AI
First edition launches on Amazon: paperback, Kindle, and the companion 7 Levels of AI Proficiency Workbook (Volume 1: Foundations) all available.
In the Press · May 16, 2026
The Indianapolis Business Journal
ran a Q&A.
“AI has all the knowledge in the world, but it doesn't have any wisdom. We bring the wisdom to the table.”Indianapolis Business Journal Q&A, May 16, 2026
The Last Word feature, page 34A. On AI, wisdom, and the entrepreneurial arc behind LaunchReady.
Speaking
Bring AI into
your room.
Every talk is built around your audience, your industry, and the one or two things you want people walking out knowing how to do. I write fresh material for every engagement.
01
Keynote
Built for conferences, annual meetings, and leadership events. Speaks the language of your industry. Leaves your audience with something they can act on the next day.
02
AI Literacy Workshop
A working session that ends with clarity on what to do next. Your team understands AI and knows where it fits in their work.
03
AI Bootcamp
Your team works through one or two real business problems with AI. By the end of the day you have something installed and a clear path to what comes next.
In conversation on the AI Ready Podcast
Recent guests on the AI Ready Podcast
On Harrison as the AI-operator model.
Jay Samit
Former Vice Chairman, Deloitte Digital
Find Me Online
Four places
to go deeper.
Where the work shows up between the book, the assessment, and the engagement.
YouTube
AI Ready Podcast
2.8M views. 10K+ subscribers. Practical AI education for people who need results, not just concepts.
Watch →LinkedIn
Harrison Painter
What I am learning, building, and thinking about AI in business. The unfiltered version.
Connect →Apple Podcasts
AI Ready Podcast
AI news, tools, interviews, compliance, and strategy for professionals. New episodes weekly.
Listen →Spotify
AI Ready Podcast
Same show, wherever you listen. Subscribe and get new episodes the moment they drop.
Subscribe →The Framework
Read the 7 Levels
of AI Proficiency.
The only published proficiency framework. A measurable ladder from where your team is today to where the work needs them to be. Read it free at launchready.ai/7-levels, take the assessment at assess.launchready.ai, and every engagement we run is built on it.
Read the framework →
Twenty minutes.
Honest answers.
A discovery call. I want to know where you are, where you want to go, and whether LaunchReady is the right way to get there.