Steven Volpp

AI is here, so how does that give us an advantage?

In 1984, when I was 19 I went to work for a company that had a teletype machine.  It could talk to China, or anywhere in the world.  While that technology was widely adapted in the 1930’s, I had neither seen one work or more importantly seen one assist in generating revenue.  In 1984, it seemed like science fiction brought to life for me.  

Then everyone got one so it was no longer an advantage.

Then later in 1984 we got a fax machine.  We had never seen anything like it.  Text and images were sent around the world in near real time.  It was fascinating and profitable.

Then everyone got one so it was no longer an advantage.

Then we got cell phones and that gave us an edge.

Then everyone got one so it was no longer an advantage.

Then we got a Blackberry and that gave us an edge.

Then everyone got one so it was no longer an advantage.

Then we got smartphones and that gave us a edge.

Then everyone got one so it was no longer an advantage.

And now we have AI.  But so does everyone else, so what is our advantage?

One way to get an advantage is to buy the premium AI, as it is vastly more powerful.  But that is $200 to $400 per month.  If you want your kid to rise to the top at school, you may have to buy that.  But can you really afford the equivalent of a car payment for AI every month?

Or, there is this way.

The world is analog.

No matter if it was the stone age, the bronze age, the industrial age, the technological age or now the AI age, the world always was and always will be analog.  You, me, love, all of our emotions, everything that makes us human, is analog.

Before AI, humans were very sad and lonely.  The U.S. Surgeon General even declared loneliness an epidemic, and that was before the AI revolution.  What is AI going to do to us?  We don't know, but we do know that humans will never stop searching for ways to feel better, and to feel more human.  

The world is analog, and in that analog world humans have 7 emotions: 

Joy

Anger

Sadness

Fear

Love

Hate

Desire

Humans also have 6 desires:

Survival

Pleasure

Belonging

Recognition

Power

Meaning

So how do we use AI to gain an advantage? 

If you can find a way to use the digital technology to create the ultimate analog result, you will have an advantage. 

If you can find a method or a product to make humans feel better about those 13 emotions and desires, you will have an advantage. 

Just don’t forget to use technology humanely and don’t be like the Meta’s and Google’s of the world.