The kids are alright!
In our collective anxiety about AI, we forget to also acknowledge the potential for positive impact by AI — the power it has to democratize technology in ways that uplifts humanity.
I think reasonable people will agree that we live in WILD times. Just a couple of days ago, there was collective freak out in the tech world over Mythos (Anthropic’s latest AI model).
With the break-neck pace of change in the AI Era, those that are paying attention are extremely overwhelmed. There are countless conversations about the dangers of AI, and the issues with using AI in critical workflows, related security risks, and so on, which, to be fair, are legitimate for the most part.
However, I think in our collective anxiety, we forget to also acknowledge the potential for positive impact of AI — the power it has to democratize technology in ways that uplifts humanity.
I was recently reminded of that on a flight from SF to the east coast.
Sitting next to me in the middle seat was someone that seemed to be a college student. I couldn't help but notice that he was having a deep conversation with ChatGPT on his laptop, perched on the tray table. At a glance, the conversation was about revenue, scaling marketing activities etc. I assumed that he was doing a project for a business class or something like that. But I couldn't help my curiosity, so I actually asked him what he was doing.
Turns out, he was not a student at all!
He had in fact started a power-washing business right out of high school. He had bought a handful of power-washers, recruited high-school students who were looking for supplemental jobs and had built a growing, profitable business. ALL USING AI!!!
He had used ChatGPT to come up with and refine his business plan, OpenClaw agents to run his entire recruitment, marketing and ads campaign, on all the social platforms, and ChatGPT to again help him refine the next steps for sales and revenue generation. That is how he was running and growing his business.
His plan was to convert what he had built into a software solution he could sell to other similar businesses. It was incredible to watch his excitement about the whole thing!
Here's the part that was the most interesting — He had never learned to code, and he admitted that using the coding agents was his biggest challenge. BUT he taught himself, again using AI.
He had unlocked a whole new life for himself with the help of AI and his willingness to learn, adapt and try new things!
This reminded me of when I first witnessed the mobile phone revolution in India. It democratized access to better markets, better wages, better outcomes for so many millions of people!
Here's the thing — any technology, from nuclear to cell phones to AI, can be used for good or harm. But in such chaotic times, it is good to remind ourselves of that, so we can ground our freak-outs and realize that new tech that democratizes access to knowledge can also uplift those that are eager, flexible and willing to learn!
I hold out hope for ourselves and our kids. Maybe I am naive :)
(Image courtesy ChatGPT. BTW, I didn’t tell it anyone’s gender ;-) #IYKYK)