We bring structure, rigour and clarity to AI decisions at critical moments - before investment, before release and after deployment.
The Interstice is an independent advisory practice working at the intersection of machine learning research, product evaluation and strategic decision-making.
The Interstice helps organisations close the critical gaps between technical capability and real-world value in AI systems.
An interstice is the space between things - the small but critical gaps where systems connect and outcomes are often determined. More broadly, it describes the points where different disciplines, ideas or stages of a process meet. In AI development, these gaps often sit between model performance, product design and outcomes.
We work with teams developing or developing AI systems to define what success should look like and how it will be measured. We also help establish the evidence needed to support product, investment and deployment decisions.
This keeps AI initiatives focused on outcomes that genuinely matter - improving customer experience, reducing cost or risk, generating revenue or enabling entirely new capabilities.
We also help teams understand how their systems perform in practice: what they do well, where they struggle and why. This evidence is often critical for securing trust, funding and adoption.
We work with:
Dr Lara Johnson brings over fifteen years at the intersection of AI research, product evaluation, and strategic consulting. Trained across the humanities, psychology, and machine learning at Oxford and the University of Edinburgh (PhD), she combines rigorous technical analysis with clear communication and commercial awareness.
Research
PhD research linking 3.5 million patient records across GP, hospital, prescribing, and mortality data to model risk — work that demands precision in data definitions, assumptions, and the limits of what models can reliably show.
Industry
Hands-on experience evaluating AI products in fast-moving commercial environments — including LegalTech, where she designed evaluation protocols for language models processing legal documents, measuring accuracy, recall, and citation reliability alongside domain experts.
Consulting
A decade in consulting, building measurement frameworks and assessing portfolios up to £1.3bn across multiple countries and delivery partners — separating activity from outcomes and testing whether the evidence supports the claims.
Successful AI initiatives require clarity of purpose, early validation and alignment between technical ambition and commercial reality.
We advise organisations at key decision points in their AI journey — before investment, before release, and after deployment — helping ensure initiatives are well-framed, well-evidenced, and positioned for long-term success.
All engagements are tailored to organisational stage and product maturity. Outputs are designed for both:
Senior leaders and boards: concise, decision-focused summaries
Product and technical teams: detailed, practical documentation and implementation guidance
AI Opportunity Definition & Business Case
For: Organisations exploring AI adoption
AI initiatives deliver the greatest value when anchored to clearly defined use cases and measurable objectives.
We help leadership teams turn ambitions to use AI into focused initiatives, identifying where AI can improve performance, reduce cost, create new offerings and strengthen competitive advantage.
This includes:
Outcomes
AI Evaluation and Readiness
For: AI startups from seed to series A, especially in regulated or high-trust sectors
Strong demos generate interest. Rigorous evidence builds the confidence investors and enterprise buyers need to fund and adopt early-stage AI systems.
We bring a research-level approach to product evaluation, helping teams define and demonstrate value in ways that resonate with investors and buyers.
This includes:
Outcomes
AI Impact and ROI Review
For: Scale-ups and enterprises with AI already in production
Sustained AI value depends on understanding its business impact and refining it over time.
We conduct structured reviews to understand whether AI systems are delivering the commercial and operational value originally intended, and how they can be strengthened.
This includes:
Outcomes
For: Regulated businesses, consumer AI products, enterprise SaaS
AI systems are complex, multi-component systems combining data pipelines, models, retrieval layers, business rules, and human oversight. As scrutiny increases from regulators, enterprise buyers and customers, organisations benefit from being able to explain how their systems work.
We help organisations design transparency frameworks that reflect how their AI-enabled products function.
This includes:
Outcomes
This work supports both internal governance and external transparency for customers — without exposing proprietary detail.
If you’re approaching an AI investment decision, preparing a product for release, or need an independent view on what’s already in production — we should talk. Engagements are scoped to your stage, your sector, and the decisions you need to make.
Start a conversation
lara@theinterstice.co.ukBased in London, available for remote and onsite work across the UK and internationally.
