A Cerebrium Consulting Book

Dark Decisions

The impressive demo and the reliable product are two different things. The Orchestrator Framework is the architecture between them.

For builders, product leaders, and executives who are done discovering that gap the hard way.

Out October 13, 2026

Paperback in bookstores  ·  Paperback on Amazon  ·  eBook on Kindle

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Dark Decisions: The Orchestrator's Guide to Building AI Products That Work When You're Not Watching, by Tom H. Olakitan
The Pattern Is the Rule, Not the Exception

Most AI products are impressive in a demo and unreliable in production. The data is not subtle.

5–6%

of organizations are capturing significant value from AI

Two of the most rigorous studies of enterprise AI, using different methods on different populations, agree on this figure.

MIT Project NANDA, The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025. McKinsey, State of AI 2025.

42%

of companies abandoned most of their AI initiatives in 2025

Up from 17 percent the year before. The abandonment rate more than doubled in a single year.

S&P Global Market Intelligence, 2025.

22–94%

hallucination rate range across 26 leading AI models

Depending on the model and the task. The range is not a fluke. It is the architecture telling you something.

Stanford HAI, 2026 AI Index, Responsible AI chapter.

The failure is not the model. It is what surrounds the model. That is what this book is about.

What Is Inside

A framework you can build from, not just read.

Dark Decisions teaches the Orchestrator Framework: the architecture that closes the gap between the impressive demo and the reliable product. It covers the eight gates every reliable AI product needs, the six principles that govern it, and the pipeline specification that proves the design was deliberate.

After reading Dark Decisions, you will be able to:

  • Assess any AI product against the eight gates in a single working session.
  • Write a pipeline specification before building, not after discovering what went wrong.
  • Run a go-live review with clear criteria: twenty questions, three groups, one rule.
  • Name the root cause when an AI product fails in production, not just the symptom.
  • Present any AI product's governance architecture to a client, an investor, or a regulator.

The eight gates.

The mandatory architecture every AI product needs, explained in plain language. Not a checklist to tick. A structure to build from.

The go-live gate.

A checklist for deciding whether an AI product is ready to launch, or not yet. Clear criteria. No ambiguity.

The starter kit.

Seven governance tools in a single fillable PDF. Audit an existing product, design a new one, or run a go-live review. Ready the same day you download it.

What Readers Say

"Dark Decisions is the most relevant book on AI governance I've ever read."

"I am a software engineer with an MBA in data mining and machine learning, yet the information I have gotten from this book is beyond what I have previously learned. Everyone from business owners, to employees, and even policy makers need to get their hands on this book."

Olabayo Balogun Software Engineer, Bank of Industry
MBA, Data Mining and Machine Learning
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

About the Author

Tom H. Olakitan

Tom H. Olakitan is the founder of Cerebrium Consulting and the creator of Compliance Charter, an AI governance platform for regulated healthcare professionals. A Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), a Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ACA), and a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (FCMC), he holds an MBA in Strategy and Digital Transformation. Eighteen years across finance, strategy, consulting, banking, and manufacturing on two continents, turning business intent into what actually gets built.

FCCA ACA FCMC MBA

The book is for the people who do not want to be in next year's 42 percent: the companies that abandoned most of their AI initiatives.

Get the Starter Kit

Seven tools plus a five-week implementation course, free the moment you sign up.

Join the list: get the Starter Kit free, plus a five-week implementation course delivered one email per week.

You're on the list.

Check your inbox for The Orchestrator's Starter Kit. Your five-week implementation course starts next week, one email per week. Week one of the five-week implementation course lands in seven days. The book goes live October 13, 2026.

Open the fillable Kit Download the PDF

Seven fillable tools, twelve pages. Fill it in the browser, or download the PDF.