No adult left behind

A few weeks ago, I was at a friend’s house helping him install some new stereo and audio equipment. We struggled to make things work, and he was pretty frustrated. So, I did what I thought a normal person would do: I took a picture of the back of the panel and uploaded it to ChatGPT. I asked the AI to troubleshoot problems and give solutions.

In a few seconds, we had four separate actions to test and report back to the AI. The second suggested action fixed the problem and the audio equipment worked.

He has been a successful professional, but in an “old economy” sort of way and the AI thing is something he loosely observes from a distance, and this is what concerns me about mid- and late-career professionals in today’s world.

Too many in this group of people resist the use of AI, believe the results are inaccurate, or are simply intimidated by the ability to hold all the world’s recorded knowledge in your hand.

I fear that this must change or else a few generations of people will physically age at a normal pace but will mentally decline precipitously compared with their AI-assisted peers.

The coming split of those that embrace AI and embed these tools into their professional and personal lives and those that resist will create a new wave of “haves” and “have nots” that will not be measured by the size of a bank account.

I have another friend who sent me a detailed dialogue he had with an AI when researching a topic we were working on together. In the discussion, he used proper grammar and responded to questions from the AI with answers like, “Yes, please” and “Thank you, but can you give more depth on the last point?”

Friend #2 totally gets it and understands AI is not a fad, but a powerful set of tools that amplify our mental abilities much the same way the first computers did, and the rise of the Internet after that.

I learned many years ago to stop trying to tell people what to do, so I decided not to become an AI evangelist. People need to consume and absorb AI technologies at their own pace.

My only plea is that if you have not made it to the level of Friend #2, make a concerted effort to get there. If you do not know where or how to start, ask the AI to help you.

Happy Holidays.

Publishing schedule

01-Jan: I will be sending a survey to all of you and would appreciate responses and any other feedback you have for keeping this newsletter on your must-read list. This will be my only appeal for structured feedback for all of 2025, so please give it a look. (You can send feedback and criticisms anytime by replying to the newsletter. These messages go directly to my email.)

08-Jan: I will resume regular publication with more stories of deceit, fraud, and the consequences of greed.