Call Summary: Applied AI Vision, Vatican Tech Leadership, and Strategic Partnerships

Overview

Chris provided a campus tour of St. Teresa via video while discussing Gary's Applied AI community launch, sharing his successful AI facilities management case study, and revealing major Vatican developments including Monsignor Ekpo's appointment and a direct opportunity to develop Vatican blockchain strategy. The conversation covered multiple business opportunities and reinforced their aligned vision on the "producer" role in Applied AI implementation.

Key Topics Discussed

Applied AI Community Launch

• Gary's Charter Review: Chris reviewed and validated Gary's Applied AI community concept

  • Travis Oliphant's interest in sponsoring the community
  • Focus on practitioners who can bridge business and technology

• Timing Insight: "I think it'll be more popular in a year than it is now. People are coming to this conclusion. I'm not sure they're totally there yet."

• Multidisciplinary Requirements: Chris emphasized the complexity of the Applied AI role

  • "You have to be very multidisciplinary to be effective at applied AI because you have to know business, you have to know tech, you have to know people, you have to know personnel."
  • "It takes a really dynamic high IQ but multidisciplinary person to make it fly"

St. Teresa Campus and Operations

• Campus Overview: 22 acres total, 12 with buildings, 10 wooded acres with Stations of the Cross

  • Elementary school, church, parish halls, offices
  • 10 minutes from downtown Austin

• AI Facilities Management Success Story:

  • Facilities manager quit June 2025, not replaced
  • Loaded all emails, work orders, contracts into GPT
  • Result: "I have a better handle on this campus than I did when I had somebody on staff"
  • Savings: $125k annually (fully loaded cost)
  • "I still don't have somebody in that role. And so for our church and school, it saves us 125k a year."

Major Vatican Development: Monsignor Ekpo Appointment

• New Vatican Structure: Pope streamlining all digital operations under one office

  • Monsignor Ekpo appointed to run consolidated digital operations (4 days before call)
  • Now #4-5 person in Vatican hierarchy
  • Vatican bank, communications, all digital initiatives report to him

• Chris's Assessment: "She said he is not screwing around. So that's pretty awesome."

  • Direct line to Pope for initiatives
  • Represents shift from Italian deliberative culture to action-oriented approach

Vatican Blockchain/Crypto Strategy Project

• Current State: "There's no crypto blockchain strategy to the Vatican... zero"

• Chris's Vision: Developing comprehensive Vatican position on:

  • Bitcoin and cryptocurrency perspective
  • Potential Vatican stable coin
  • Blockchain for authenticity verification against AI deepfakes
  • "Blockchain can be if harnessed properly... the antonym of fake AI"

• Deliverable: One-sheet outline due 6pm same day to Jill for Vatican review

  • Funding available through network contacts
  • Direct pipeline to Monsignor Ekpo for approval

Technology Migration: Gemini 3

• Platform Shift: Both Chris and Gary migrating from ChatGPT to Gemini 3
  • "It's really so much better. I'm actually migrating everything over"
  • Chris's observation: "It does seem like GPT is going to get left in the dust"
  • Speculation that OpenAI may have throttled ChatGPT: "I feel like it was better 6 months ago than it is now"

Gray Line Consulting Opportunity

• Structure: Holding company with multiple consultants

  • 50,000-person mailing list of budget authorities
  • 5% revenue share for back-office support (legal, HR, etc.)
  • Chris drafted AI practice proposal for Gray Line Labs

• Chris's Role: Blogging and thought leadership

  • Uses posts strategically during contract negotiations
  • Leverages Gray Line brand for credibility

Parent AI Operating System (Shelved Project)

• Concept: Parentpoint.ai - comprehensive parenting logistics automation

  • School schedules, homework tracking, lunch planning
  • Club sports coordination
  • "The software that powers schools is just total trash"

• Status: On hold after developer got "8 million dollar deal" from Meta

  • Chris connected with Adam Jace from conference who has similar vision
  • Domain acquired but not developed

Business Philosophy and Networking

• On Referrals: Chris's principled approach

  • "I'm not going to burn a contact... There's only so many favors you can ask"
  • Prefers relationship building over referral fees
  • "I get better relationship juice out of just helping guys get... or women get something done"

• On Partnership Models:

  • Technical implementation vs. organizational change management
  • Importance of "gray hair" credibility for C-suite engagement
  • Surgical focus vs. comprehensive solutions

Key Quotes

On Applied AI Requirements

• "If you're lacking a piece, right, like you're in the weeds. If you know all the stuff and you don't know tech, you don't know how to make an agent dance. Then you're going to have a problem."

On Vatican Tech Revolution

• "This is very action oriented appointment... the Pope's way of saying, like you Italians that like to sip coffee and think about it like you're out"

On Blockchain as AI Antidote

• "A public blockchain can verify authentic media... In a way, blockchain can be if harnessed properly... the antonym of fake AI"

On Business Development

• "I wouldn't take a cut. Like, I just help you get business going... It's all good. You know, but... pay it forward or help me out later"

On Implementation Philosophy

• "People talk about this stuff in this ethereal, academic way... But let's talk about it in a very tangible way, right? Like, here's the problem, here's how it was solved with AI and here's where we ended up"

Action Items / Takeaways

1. Chris's Deliverables:

   • Submit Vatican blockchain strategy outline by 6pm Nov 24
   • Share facilities management AI article/post
   • Send Gary relevant contacts as opportunities arise
   • Share analysis of EAIS conference attendees

2. Gary's Next Steps:

   • Build concrete Applied AI case studies (starting with Jollibee project)
   • Develop network of technical implementers
   • Consider partnership models for organizational change management
   • Review Chris's producer concept materials

3. Collaboration Opportunities:

   • Gray Line AI practice potential partnership
   • Vatican blockchain project involvement
   • St. Teresa AI education initiatives
   • Executive coaching partnerships with David Miller

Strategic Insights

Market Timing for Applied AI

• Current market not fully ready but momentum building
• Need for concrete case studies and tangible ROI demonstrations
• Focus on solving real business problems vs. academic discussions

Vatican as Innovation Platform

• Unprecedented access through Monsignor Ekpo appointment
• Vatican approval creates competitive "moat" for Catholic institutions
• Opportunity to influence global Catholic tech adoption

Network Leverage Philosophy

• Quality over quantity in business referrals
• Relationship capital more valuable than referral fees
• Strategic use of content for deal facilitation

Technology Adoption Patterns

• Organizational readiness varies significantly
• Some people "never going to adopt it because they're just not open minded"
• Success requires both technical and cultural change management

Practical Insights

On Sam Altman

• Chris's direct assessment: "He's a weasel. I mean, I met him... I don't like him"
• Shared skepticism about OpenAI's trajectory

On Project Management

• Chris's self-awareness: "Probably undiagnosed ADHD, so I need a lot of action"
• Multiple concurrent projects as operating mode
• Quick action over extended deliberation

On Vatican Cultural Shift

• Europeans "expect to think about it and talk about it and eventually work it out"
• Americans "see problem, fix problem... I'll have your solution next Friday"
• Ekpo appointment signals shift to action-oriented approach