All right everyone, let’s talk about life before AI. Now life before AI you needed to live in physical spaces, and you needed to have access to those spaces. For example, you needed access to a library. You need a library card, and in some areas, to obtain a library card, you need, I don’t know, some form of identification. It can be a process, and if you live in an affluent neighborhood, these are just basic tools that you’re familiar with and have always grown up with. However, if you live in other parts of the world or if you live in neighborhoods where there are challenges with access to transportation and other things that will make it difficult to get to a library – such as living in dangerous neighborhoods where you’re just scared of just sheer violence and getting to these physical spaces. Then, once you’re in these physical spaces, there is a system, a process you have to learn when it comes to navigating the library itself, accessing encyclopedias, understanding how to research within them, and discerning the information.

That’s one example. There are other examples where if you grew up in an affluent household with generations of college-educated parents, you’d have access to information and resources that you can leverage to enhance your knowledge and understanding and then catapult yourself into the future.

Now, let’s say you didn’t have access to that. You were pretty much at a disadvantage. But that’s not to say that you were helpless. There are tons of programs within urban neighborhoods, there are tons of resources globally, and access even before the adoption of the Internet, where you can still get information and learn.

The Internet Age: AI Behind the Scenes

Now fast-forward to the age of the Internet. Believe it or not you’ve been interacting with AI since algorithms have existed. The Internet is a vast and very insecure place to navigate, but the adoption of Google and algorithms that manage the Internet for us and provide suggestions and recommendations based on our search queries – help us navigate a complex space while also maintaining it securely. This is a simple overview. Obviously, it’s more complicated than that in terms of security features, how the algorithms work, and many other things, but needless to say, whenever you search for something online, there’s not someone manually suggesting what you may be interested in based on your search query. A machine does this, hence my point that we’ve been interacting with AI for quite some time now.

Customer-Facing AI: A New Era

Now, fast-forward to the adoption of AI tools that are more customer-facing versus the AI tools that we have experienced working behind the scenes, like the example with the Google algorithm, as I explained above. It’s an exciting time with the birth of the Internet. You have access to infinite knowledge and infinite information, and you can subscribe to many different platforms, whether they’re paid or free, to get the information you need. Information is truly democratized with the birth of the Internet, and the ease of use has been facilitated with the efficiencies of algorithms.

But now, enter a more nuanced approach to using the Internet with client-facing AI. AI is vast, it’s grand, it’s limitless in its potential, but one of the things to know is that AI can now give you more contextual relevance based on what you’re searching for and give you a more balanced approach in terms of things you should consider in your own search queries. An example of that is when I’m searching for something related to the best car I am shopping for. AI can give you a more constructive interaction on the pros and cons of certain cars without you having to source many different online links and resources – it can do the sourcing for you and then provide a balanced look at your next purchase.

The Power of AI in Everyday Life

That’s just one example of the simplicity of using AI and how powerful this tool can be moving forward. And then it could get more complex. Though not recommended, you can look up certain health ailments and specific rehabilitation recommendations based on injuries you might’ve suffered in the past, and you can even ask for legal advice. Again, consult with your doctor and your lawyers. Don’t just represent yourself on really serious matters, but to give you some context and understanding on specific terms, you can now leverage AI to do that for you and to give you a balanced look on what you’re searching for and also to help you gain a little bit more understanding and insight. After that point, if you wanna dig a mile deep into a publication, AI will leave you sources to links that you can source and read at your leisure to gain even more insights. Now I officially have a personal assistant who is smart enough to research things thoroughly for me and provide an overview and in-depth analysis of what I’m researching while also providing sources that I can always reference to ensure accuracy.

Embracing the AI Era

So for those who are afraid that the machines are coming, I just wanna preface that the machines have always been here and the benefit of today is that it’s more customer facing and it’s going to give you more knowledge, it’s going to give you more insight, and it’s gonna help you scale to a whole new level. We live in an age AI where soft skills matter, being human matters, and being present matters – it’s not about the technical knowledge available to very few since the beginning of time. When you think about the Middle Ages, when people had very little access to libraries, and education was available only to the wealthy. Now, we have democracy, or the democratization of information, that all of us can access at a very affordable rate. Some services are free, and others are paid, but the access is there, and it’s all available for you. So, welcome to the new age, everyone; that’s my rant for today!