I’ve been playing basketball once a week in my town’s middle school gym for 20 years.
It’s “pick up” – no uniforms, no referees, no standings. The teams are assembled and reconfigured at random several times a night, based solely on when you arrive.
After all these years, and as you might imagine, we know each other pretty well. So well, in fact, that depending on who you match up with, it’s natural to apply specific strategies for that person:
Steve is big and very good. But he has trouble going to his left. So I overplay him to that side.
Bob doesn’t like to run. If he’s guarding me, I try to keep moving so he doesn’t have time to rest.
Alex is one of the best players out there. But he’s friendly and likes to chat. So I keep talking to him during the game to try and distract him as much as possible.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
Each player has their own collection of strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. It makes sense to treat them differently.
And, of course, it cuts both ways. Anyone who matches up with me has also developed a mental model over time of how best to play against me.
But that’s not always how it works. Every year, some guys retire and a new batch of (unfortunately younger) people show up – people who most of us have never played with before.
Now, while we can all make broad assumptions about one another based on size, appearance, and apparent age, there’s a period of time in which you don’t really know what to expect. It takes a little while for everyone to figure out who’s who.
AI Is The New Player
At the risk of pushing too weak an analogy, we can think of AI as the new player in town:
It’s unclear what it’s capable of, let alone what its particular strengths and weaknesses will ultimately be.
Which means that right now, we are likewise in the “getting to know one another” phase.
Will AI destroy our businesses and eat our children?
Or, will it take forever to become anything significant and, for all but a few specialties, just blend in with what already is?
I have no idea. But in the meantime, I’m paying close attention. This is the gap during which you can learn about the “new player” before it dunks on you.
Which is why I don’t spend any time arguing against AI – “It’s not funny, it’s not personal, it makes lots of errors, blah, blah, blah.”
Nor do I assert that whatever noteworthy impact it will eventually have is years away.
Like I said, I don’t know. Nobody does.
I am just trying to learn as much as I can so I can anticipate what aspects of my business it may harm, if not eliminate entirely.
The way I look at it, I’d rather overprepare for a potential disaster than wait to react until after the monster has set foot in the gym.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you have a weekly hobby/event/sport in which you participate?
- Have you ever considered eating your children? Explain.
- Has AI already had an impact on your business?
Share your answers below…
Still working (a writer) and I use ai (I don’t capitalize it if I don’t have to, otherwise it sounds like I’m picking on somebody named “Al.” Canvas mode in ChatGPT is like writing in a google doc with ai super-powers. If you have access to that, it’s worth experimenting.
I’ll use ai as a writing tool, but I make sure that whatever I write has my fingerprints all over it.
I was unaware of Canvas. I will give it a look and thanks!
Do you have a weekly hobby/event/sport in which you participate?
I do two things weekly. Both are just for me (sorta) but very different. First I volunteer at the food bank her in town that supplies food (for emergency and seniors) twice a week in the morning or sometimes in late afternoon. 2nd, twice a week I play cards with a group of people and we have lots of laughs and fun even when we lose. (I have a running losing streak at the moment).
Have you ever considered eating your children? Explain.
No, they are too feisty and wouldn’t be that tasty.
Has AI already had an impact on your business?
It has. Because I don’t feel I have enough skill with it yet I feel like I’m not qualified at times.
I know what you mean about not feeling qualified. But that was essentially the point of this post – nobody is qualified… yet. Now’s the time to fool around before being qualified is the expectation!
1. Walking football (soccer to you, Michael) – specifically designed for the elderly and decrepit. But, how I still manage to pull all kinds of muscles in all kinds of unmentionable areas, without even breaking into a trot, is beyond me).
2. It’s been a while. I believe it was W.C. Fields who famously said, ‘I like children … poached.’
3. Yes – AI has improved my copywriting. By using it for research, inspiration and structuring, I’m able to provide a better service in less time to more clients.
I enjoyed Michael Rhoda’s comment that he chooses not to capitalise (sorry – capitalize) AI. Does this make him the ee cummings of copywriting?
One day, Steve, we will have to finally meet in person and share the various oddities of our two cultures. So let me get this straight, you play football and running is prohibited, or just not required?
I would love to meet up one day Michael. We’ll have such fun.
To answer your question – running is prohibited – but, at my club, the rules are sometimes bent, permitting participants to run whilst not in possession. It’s very funny to watch all these sparrow-legged, beer-bellied geriatrics waddling around, endeavouring to re-live their youth whilst occasionally remaining upright.
If you are trying to convince me to visit you in person, I am several steps closer to doing so after that description. And let me just say, “The sparrow-legged, beer-bellied geriatrics” would be a great band name.
Do you have a weekly hobby/event/sport in which you participate? No, unless you count watching TV. Does that make me like Travis Bickle?
Have you ever considered eating your children? Explain. No. That would make me like Hannibal Lecter.
Has AI already had an impact on your business? No. I read a lot about AI but rarely try it. I’m usually dissuaded by the $20 it would cost me.
If I did join a weekly socializing event, would I be known as Mr. Popularity?
I think the $20 per month investment is a good one if you are open to just fooling around.
I can’t argue with that! I guess too often I compare myself to professional writer role models and teachers who use AI extensively and expect their student writers to do the same. It’s taken to be the only emergent sure path to time-saving and success.
I’m also continually told I can’t afford to make more money because it will destroy our social security check and hit us with higher taxes.
Furthermore, I’m sometimes paying so much for training (and other things) that I risk depleting my account…but never do.
Oh well. Overall, I’m incredibly lucky. Alternatives could be a lot worse! :-)))
I’m still playing basketball once or twice a week with the 55 and over group from Windsor, Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Colorado. I’ve been playing with these guys for 19 years. We have some guys over 80…that can still shoot threes.
I haven’t really used AI. I help with conferences also and listened to an interesting presentation on AI. This guy had stopped doing websites and started training on AI. He stopped doing websites because he said AI would eliminate the need. I’ve been doing websites for 29 years and am semi-retired, but my son with the brains works with me and has lots of work. My grandson is starting to do some web work at 16 and he may embrace AI. I’m switching most of my work to Conference Assistance running AV and doing Event Photography.
I’m envious of your 55+ game. Mine is 40+ which at this point does not help so much. Congrats to you as well on involving the next two generations in your work!