The Neanderthal Matrix
AINeanderthal
Why Everyone Is Bad at the Easiest Technology Ever Built — and How Not to Die Out With Them.
Maria Werchota & Malcolm Werchota · Tuesday 20 October 2026
The hook
An eight-year-old beat a room of 400 tax partners.
Sophia, age 8, was handed the same AI tool as a room full of senior professionals. She got a better result in minutes. Her entire technique was to keep talking to it like a person.
The professionals had better degrees, better data and the same software. What they did not have was permission to look stupid while learning.
“Make it fresh, dude.”
The matrix
Tools are the x-axis. Fear is the y-axis.
Everyone thinks the bottleneck is the tools. It's the fear.
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Ebook
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Delivers 20 October 2026
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€24.99
Print edition, 17 chapters, 57,492 words.
Pre-order opens soon
Delivers 20 October 2026
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The Neanderthal Test
Two hours. One honest answer.
The Neanderthal Test is a ten-question benchmark that tells you exactly where you sit on the Matrix — how many tools you actually use, and how much room you have to be wrong in front of other people. No score inflation, no personality quiz. Just the coordinates.
Most people score worse than an eight-year-old. That is the point.
Inside the book
17 chapters. 57,492 words.
- 01My Eight-Year-Old Beats Any Banker
- 02The Neanderthal Test
- 03Not Safer Just Slower
- 04Everyone Has Something to Hide
- 05The Definition of Done
- 06AI Jesus
- 07The 98-2 Problem
- 08Insights Not Data
- 09Show and Tell Not Pitch Decks
- 10CRMs Will Become Obsolete
- 11Building the Brain at Every Scale
- 12Don't Be Monogamous With Your AI
- 13The Friction Doesn't Come From the Technology
- 14Sarah vs the Neanderthal
- 15The Race
Epilogue — What They Left With
Appendix — The Neanderthal Toolkit
The podcast
Every weekday, out of the cave.
AI Neanderthal by Malcolm Werchota — AI news for humans, not robots. Ten or eleven stories a day: three explained slowly, the rest fast. No jargon, no breathless futurism. Just what happened, what it costs, and who gets handed the bill.
Latest episodes
- #6The Week AI Started Deciding About People
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New episode every weekday. 6 episodes so far.
All episodes →
The authors
Maria Werchota
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, werchota.ai
Maria builds the systems that make AI adoption actually stick — turning executive intent into working process across regulated industries.
Malcolm Werchota
Co-Founder & Principal Partner, werchota.ai
Malcolm has delivered AI keynotes and workshops to thousands of executives across DACH, and hosts the daily podcast AI Neanderthal.
What are you doing Monday morning?
The book is the argument. Monday morning is the test.