AI Won't; It Already Has

In a couple of weeks, you will meet a new friend, Jeff Burningham, who recently wrote the book “The Last Book Written by a Human.”  Today, I would like to introduce you to Ryan Estes.  

Ryan founded and launched Kitcaster, a podcast agency, in 2017.  When he and co-founder Brandy Whalen founded the agency to connect podcast hosts and guests, podcasting wasn’t new. 

Podcasting ‘took off’ more than a decade before Kitcaster was established.  But if I were to ask you a rhetorical question here, before 2017, how much of your day was listening to and curating podcasts?  Likely not much.

According to the AI overview feature on Google, in 2015, the average consumer listened to one hour of podcasts per week.  In 202,5, the number is 1 hour a day on average—a 7x climb.

If we’re waiting for AI to impact, augment, or amplify life, we don't need to; it has already done so.

I’ve only gotten this far, a couple of hundred words, and I have used AI to select the quote from my conversation with Ryan.  I used it to gather details about Kitcaster’s founding.  As noted, to obtain the metrics regarding podcast listening hours.  And lastly, to complete the “impact, augment and amplify” triumvirate.

GEN Z

My three kids are all GEN Z, born between 1997 and 2012.  The normality of my life from 0 to 15 is almost as different from me to them as it was for GEN X to children born at the turn of the 20th century.

Each day, I hear or see my son or daughter use an AI feature that I don't even contemplate. It's as second nature for them to do so as it was for me to listen to music on a Walkman while working on the farm, as it was for my parents to turn on a TV in the evening in the 1960s.

Technology and its use have risen with a proverbial hockey-stick inflection.  Up and to the right dramatically.

And they are just getting started.  It's not how AI impacts life, it's how much.

This is where prudence will blow us all away.

The way I will utilize AI, research, simplification, and efficiency is most likely not on the radar of my kids.

For them, it's almost always voice-to-command.  Make a call, chart a direction using a maps app, and watch a Streaming episode or YouTube segment.

They have integrated AI into their lives, and I've used it as a ‘tool’.

For my parents, television was everything; it connected them, informed them, and entertained them.  For me, it was entertainment first, and then it became a place used for connection.

Going to a bar or inviting friends over to watch a game or event.  Engaging in deep theoretical conversations about sitcoms, sports, and then reality shows.

The same technology is used very differently between generations. This will likely be the same with AI.  AI won’t; it already HAS!

What AI is: 

AI as a Tool for Creativity

Ryan, in our conversation, highlights the democratizing power of AI, which enables more people to engage in creative pursuits by reducing cost and time barriers. This opens up new opportunities for innovation and personal expression.  

I know many people who start their brainstorming sessions with AI.  This is both a risk and an opportunity.  But the same goes for the sun.  

The same energy, light, and ‘tool’ that warms the air and gives life is also the same element that causes sunburns and contributes to droughts. Exempt the tool and forsake the opportunity.  So aim for moderation and oversight, just as you would with the sun.

Human Connection and AI

Ryan and I both emphasized the importance of using AI to enhance, rather than replace, human connections when we spoke. 

I have never used it to create new connections, but I have used it to strengthen existing ones.  I mentioned this in the newsletter.  I've used AI to help make videos and reels to promote beef sales.  I've used AI to help me understand things I have never experienced, enabling me to better connect with others.  

AI can be a barrier or bridge to connection; it's your choice, and I fully believe it will become as much a bridge for a younger generation as it is a barrier for others.  They don't know any other way.

Embracing Technological Change

AI won’t; it already HAS.  So take your pick, choose the path of the Amish and live a simpler existence, or fully embrace that AI isn't going anywhere.

The Amish choose not to allow electricity into their homes to preserve a way of life and a belief system.  There will undoubtedly be a place where this happens with artificial intelligence technology.  And there might be a time when people yearn to get off the grid, go back to a simpler life and existence.

I fully embrace it and foresee the days when “Made without AI” is a label we see on books, movies, and music.  Those will be novelties and appreciated as such.

I love the nostalgia of older cars and trucks, while also embracing features like CarPlay, Bluetooth, and Adaptive Cruise Control.  

We can have it all, because it won’t, it already has!

Did you catch this podcast? If not, listen to it here.