// Meet Ep
Stephen Epstein
Founder
I founded LatchKey AI to help people and organizations gain the revolutionary benefits of AI, while ensuring their judgment, taste, and experience remain firmly in the driver's seat.
LatchKey AI is a live consulting practice grounded in a communication-first approach I call Applied Intelligence.
The work is practical, human-centered, and hands-on. We work directly with individuals, teams, and leaders to discover and structure the ways that AI can make an ongoing difference in their lives or business, or both.
// Why Communication Comes First
Most conversations about AI start and end with tools.
LatchKey AI starts with communication.
After decades working in high-stakes, multidisciplinary environments where successful technical execution relied on high level communication practices, one pattern became clear: AI responds proportionally to how clearly humans articulate intent, constraints, and judgment. When communication is fuzzy, results are brittle. When you understand who you are communicating with, and do it clearly, AI becomes a powerful amplifier of even your basic proficiencies.
This insight shapes everything we do.
We do not begin with prompts, platforms, or automation fantasies. We begin by helping people clarify what they are trying to accomplish, what standards matter, and where human judgment must remain in control.
Only then does AI move from a novelty or minor convenience to something truly revolutionary.
// The Power Loader Principle
AI only does the work for you if you don't know what you want.
LatchKey AI is built around what we call the Power Loader Principle: humans stay in the driver's seat while AI extends reach, speed, and capacity.
You bring the judgment.
You bring the taste.
You bring the experience.
AI amplifies those strengths rather than replacing them.
Importantly, this principle applies equally in life and work. The same fluency that helps a team rethink workflows can help an individual untangle complex personal projects or decisions that have stalled due to planning overhead.
Same skill. Different contexts. One kind of fluency.
// From Media And Systems To Applied Intelligence
I spent more than two decades translating complexity into clarity as a communication strategist and media producer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The teams I lead supported missions, engineers, scientists, and leadership through high-visibility multimedia projects including multiple Mars missions. My work in media strategy and broadcast production has been recognized with multiple Emmy Awards.
Across those environments, the challenge was never that people lacked intelligence or effort. The challenge was alignment: helping diverse teams think clearly together, communicate intent, and move forward under real constraints.
That same skillset now underpins LatchKey AI's consulting work.
- 2018 Emmy Award, InSight Mars Lander mission (Executive Producer)
- 2019 Emmy Award, Cassini Grand Finale (Executive Producer)
- 2021 Mars Perseverance Rover landing (Executive Producer)
// How We Work Today
LatchKey AI works live with individuals and organizations through two primary modes of engagement:
AI Fluency For Humans
Live 1:1 sessions and small-group workshops focused on helping people learn to move beyond the chatbots and use AI without giving up authorship, control, or standards.
AI Systems For Businesses
Applied Intelligence consulting that identifies bottlenecks, resolves stagnant workflows, and integrates human-in-the-loop AI systems where they can create real leverage.
In both cases, the emphasis is the same: remove busywork, elevate judgment, and design systems people actually trust and use.
This is hands-on work. Real scenarios. Real constraints. No canned demos.
// What This Work Produces
Clients do not come to LatchKey AI for hype or shortcuts. They come for clarity and momentum.
Common outcomes include:
- Reduced friction and decision fatigue
- Clearer workflows that respect human judgment
- Faster execution without cultural damage
- Greater confidence using AI responsibly and effectively
Not promises. Patterns.
// Staying In Conversation
Some people work with LatchKey AI through live consulting engagements.
Others prefer to stay close through ongoing signal.
Ready When You Are
LatchKey AI meets people where they are. Whether you are looking for hands-on guidance, systems-level consulting, or simply a clearer way to think about AI's role in your work and life, the conversation starts the same way: with clarity, respect, and human judgment intact.