Introducing Ground Level AI

Field reporting from the front lines of AI, by me, Sharon Goldman

My new train is leaving the station! 🚂

After four years covering AI through one of the most consequential — and chaotic — periods in tech history, most recently at Fortune, I’m launching an independent media platform called Ground Level AI.

Ground Level AI will be focused on one big question: What happens when AI meets the real world? AI is an overwhelming beat, but what matters most is still underreported amid the hype cycle. The massive infrastructure buildout, the reality for enterprise companies, the security stakes, the policy decisions happening right now, the societal consequences, the geopolitical fault lines: these are the stories that will define how this technology actually lands. And none of that exists in a vacuum. I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the research labs driving the field forward, because understanding where AI is going requires understanding both the breakthroughs themselves and what happens when they collide with the real world.

Original, often on-the-ground reporting

Ground Level AI launches as a newsletter and podcast on Substack, featuring original, often on-the-ground reporting, exclusive interviews, and breaking analysis of the fast-paced AI news cycle 2-3 times per week. I’ll be following the story wherever it leads—from research labs and industry conferences to corporate boardrooms, data center communities, and the DC policy debates shaping AI’s future. The breakthroughs, the infrastructure, the security stakes, the policy fights, and the real-world consequences are all connected. That’s what Ground Level AI is here to cover.

I’ve got a deep network after four years on the AI beat and many more covering enterprise tech. I’ve also been around long enough to be wary of hype and willing to be contrarian. Sometimes, though, I just like to laugh at the craziness of it all. You’ll find that here, too.

If you are a practitioner building AI, an executive deploying it, or work in AI policy, security or infrastructure, you’re my people! But if you’re looking for signals about what’s going on in AI or you’re just curious about where AI is headed and its impact, you’ll feel right at home as well. This is a leap, and I’d be so grateful to have you along for the ride.

Creating things from scratch

I feel like I’ve been building toward Ground Level AI my whole career. I’ve spent more than 25 years in journalism in almost every role imaginable — including staff writer, editor, reporter, blogger and even fact-checker. Before covering AI at Fortune and VentureBeat, I spent more than a decade building a successful independent freelance business. Throughout it all, I’ve always been drawn to creating things from scratch: new projects, new communities, and new conversations. Ground Level AI is the most ambitious version of that instinct yet.

It was a dream come true when Fortune’s AI editor Jeremy Kahn brought me onto the small but mighty tech team, and I'm so grateful to have reported on one of the biggest stories of our time for such an iconic publication. I'm planning to continue contributing to Fortune, but I'm also ready for this new chapter.

I’m hoping you’ll subscribe, share, comment, and generally help me get Ground Level AI, well, literally off the ground!

I’m also planning to bring some of these conversations offline through intimate events and discussions with the people building and grappling with AI firsthand. Interested in collaborating, sponsoring, or having me speak? Reach out at sharon@groundlevel-ai.com. I’m all ears.

For news tips (not PR pitches), you can reach me securely on Signal at sharongoldman.43 (we can start off the record and take it from there).

See you on the ground,
Sharon
sharon@groundlevel-ai.com