Reader,

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being discussed everywhere, and we are certainly not lacking for a wide variety of opinions as to its impact. Some of the opinions are from real experts, some from intelligent novices, and some from people who simply have an opinion.

However, there is little consensus as to how bad or how good AI will be for society, businesses, and our careers. So, here’s my recommendation: think about it for yourself! Prepare for the impact of AI on YOUR future.

Using AI to help me think about AI

As my readers know, I’ve been writing about “the prepared mind” for decades and have run plenty of workshops for small and large businesses. So, I should be ready to rely on the teaching I’ve done.

That said, AI has entered my career and, therefore, I’ve decided to use it as a new intern for our business.

Over the past year, I’ve loaded much of my writing in ChatGPT, and it “knows” me. So, I went to my new intern and asked it to look at AI through the lens of the eight skills I’ve been preaching for the past two decades.

Here’s Chat’s response to my request to “reflect on the growth of AI.”

• Observe: What early AI signals were ignored in your industry?
• Imagine: What future AI scenarios seem unlikely—but possible?
• Reason: How do we separate hype from real impact?
• Reflect: What past tech disruptions could guide us now?
• Challenge: Which assumptions about jobs, creativity, or ethics need testing?
• Decide: What decisions can’t wait another year?
• Learn: What experiments should we start now?
• Enable: How do we prepare teams, policies, and culture for rapid AI change?

Not a bad list for us humans to ponder.

Moving back to Illinois

The movers show up next week to take our earthly belongings back “home.” I doubt that I’ll have the time (or the energy) to write next week. So, I have a favor to ask. Please ponder the “decide question” and tell me what decisions can’t wait another year. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Bill