Slice of Insight

From July: I still don’t know if these CEOs are being preemptive because they see regulation coming or this is a way to control the AI space through regulation guided by their company. There will always be a sincere threat from any technology but the turn of events over the past few weeks is unprecedented.

I think it would be better to create a “infrastructure tax” exclusively on AI companies where that money goes into rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure and updating our grids. This would create thousands of jobs and offset some of the losses AI will cause.

I’m involved with industries where it is getting harder to find employees that consistently show up, can carry on a conversation with people, and be polite in their discussions. Some of these roles are challenging because they are entry level and many people don’t stay in them long. This is what companies will use to fill the void. There will still be human workers in these places but less “warm bodies” that were needed to fill roles.

I’m beginning to come to the conclusion that some of the people in corporate America who despise AI are getting outperformed at work by the people who are embracing it. They are the new disgruntled worker who had the upper hand before AI but now are falling behind.

Maybe the real fear of AI is that it empowers individuals and actually starts another tech revolution which creates more jobs. This also doesn’t include the people who can go out and start their own business using AI.

There is a lot of doom right now as expected on social media because of the gas/oil/diesel prices. With that are a lot of opinions of what happens next. We can all speculate (including myself) but nobody really knows what is going to happen. There has never been a time like this before. It’s easy to compare it to 2008 with high yields and high gas prices but our economy is structured differently compared to then. For the everyday person pay attention to what is going on around you and have a plan if things get choppy for you and your family. At the end of the day, God is in control.

It looks like China doesn’t share the same thoughts as our tech CEOs and government officials:

We’ve been focusing on what skills will matter most over the next decade. One of the things discussed is making money passively with diversified cash flows. I see an advantage in being able to divide income streams between analog and digital. Everyone is heavy on making money via digital tools now with AI. What if the tools change and/or no longer available in the state you used them for? How would you supplement that? I think this is something to consider as we progress towards 2030.

The only thing more dangerous than the remote possibility of AI taking over is government deciding how it should be regulated. They will decide who gets to use it, how it gets used, and what it is allowed to do. This will hurt many small businesses who are beginning to use the models to scale their business by making it more expensive from regulation and dialing back its power which will impact basic functionality.

Totally off topic from my recent AI posts but it is becoming more apparent that “less is more” in our society. This will be so important as we head into the next few decades. There is a verse in the Bible that has stuck out more than ever recently: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” There are so many people trying to keep up with world and fast pace of life. It will cause major emotional stress and burnout (as we are already seeing).

Everyone asks if AI will take their job. Wrong question. Your job might be AI proof but your employer isn’t. Picture a salesperson whose role depends on in-person trust. AI can’t replace that but if a competitor uses AI to cut costs and undercut your company across the board, revenue erodes, headcount follows, and your safe job disappears anyway. In other words, you don’t have to be replaced by AI to be replaced by AI.

Regulating AI in an unbalanced manner is another concern. Let’s say AI advancements continue and the only access to them is large corporations and government. The AI models released to the general public are watered down with limitations to control rogue parties from using AI for harm. This appears at first as a solution but widens the gap for small businesses and individuals to use AI advancing their skillset and income. All models should be accessible to individuals and small businesses to have a level playing field.

If government changes hands, I hope the incoming side doesn’t treat AI regulation as payback against an industry that backed Trump. Frustration is understandable, but turning “safety” into a weapon against innovation only guarantees our top thinkers take their work somewhere else.

Is anyone else noticing a silent AI divide within corporations between people who are successful using AI and others who aren’t? I am starting to notice the people not up to speed with AI or afraid it will take their job being resentful towards those who embrace it. Another issue is as employees scale their AI skills their manager’s value is beginning to diminish. These factors are going to play out more as the AI models become better and the gap increases between employees who use it and those who don’t.

I remember when Napster gained traction and everyone was swapping music files. It was one of those moments where you knew the music industry was changed instantly. Soon came the lawsuits and it ended but it still transformed how people consumed music. When ChatGPT launched, everything changed, not just music. Anthropic’s move to watermark content that comes from its ecosystem is part of the long going regulation that will take place in this industry. The people who are upset and cancel their Claude subscription may be disappointed that the remaining AI models will follow suit. Once Donald Trump is out of office, and the pendulum swings the other way, AI will be heavily regulated. These companies see the writing on the wall and are starting their own “olive branches” towards this process. What the models look like now will be totally different by 2030. I have a few theories on the different directions this will go (there are many) and it will be interesting to watch over the next year how it begins to take shape. The USA and Europe has to remember that China will not play by the same regulatory rules.

With the current heat wave for the 4th of July weekend, there is a lot of hot discussion on what temp to set your house at. Something I rarely see talked about is body weight. If you can lose unnecessary fat that will help an individual handle future heat waves better. Here is how much we have changed since the bicentennial: Average American man: Late 1970s: about 174 lb Latest CDC data: about 199 lb Increase: about 25 lb Average American woman: Late 1970s: about 145 lb Latest CDC data: about 172 lb Increase: about 26 lb Here are the obesity stats since around the bicentennial: In 1976–1980, obesity prevalence among U.S. adults ages 20–74 was: Overall: 15.0% Men: 12.7% Women: 17.0% Latest CDC/NCHS data from Aug. 2021–Aug. 2023: Overall: 40.3% Men: 39.3% Women: 41.4