Stuart Lacey on The Derek Hunter Show: The AI Revolution Nobody Is Talking About

January 29, 2026 · WMAL 105.9 FM, Washington DC

Labrynth CEO Stuart Lacey joined Derek Hunter live in studio at WMAL 105.9 in Washington DC for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of AI — what it can actually do, why most people misunderstand it, and how regulatory red tape is quietly holding back housing, infrastructure, and economic growth across the US.

Listen to the full episode here

Stuart's appearance on The Derek Hunter Show came just days after he attended the National Conference of Mayors in Washington DC, where Labrynth's work on streamlining permitting and regulatory compliance drew significant interest from cities across the country.

One of the central themes of the conversation was the gap between how people think about AI and what it actually does in the real world. Stuart pushed back on the idea that AI is primarily about automation or job replacement — framing it instead as a precision tool that takes the manual burden off skilled workers so they can focus on decisions that actually require human judgment.

"AI is a toolbox. Just like great tools, you have tradesmen who open up the toolbox and use the right tool for the right job. We're one of those tools."— Stuart Lacey, CEO, Labrynth

The conversation also got into the hard economics of regulatory delay. Stuart explained that in markets like California, the building code alone runs to 18,000 pages and 21 million lines of requirements — and that roughly 75% of permit applications get kicked back at some point in the process, creating costly cycles of legal fees, consultant time, and delay. Labrynth's platform is designed to eliminate that back-and-forth by helping both applicants and regulators move faster and with greater accuracy.

Stuart also introduced the Red Tape Index— a free, publicly available tool that ranks every US city and state by regulatory efficiency. Since launching in late 2025, it has sparked over 100 conversations with cities eager to understand where they stand and how to improve.

On energy, the discussion turned to the growing strain that AI data centers are placing on the US grid — and why Stuart believes small modular nuclear reactors, like those being developed by Labrynth client Deep Fission, represent one of the most promising paths forward. He argued that smarter permitting is the critical unlock: the technology exists, but regulatory timelines are the bottleneck.

The interview closed on an optimistic note. Stuart's view: 2026 is the year people start to feel AI in their daily lives — and by 2027, it will simply be the new normal.

Want to see where your city ranks? Visit redtapeindex.com. 

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