Happy Back To School Monday,
AI IS NOT PERFECT by any means, and if I can spend all these weeks telling you how amazing AI is at saving your rare and valuable time and money, I owe you the same brutal honesty about where it can truly hurt you and really be scary.
I mean, beyond the water waste, environmental issues, and data centers; Even scarier than the racism embedded in AI. Because although I think all these are truly valid concerns...I think the biggest fear should be on the devil people don't know exists.
Quick story. I asked AI to help me find a new Desktop to support all the AI stuff I'm doing, and it very confidently told me I NEEDED a $2,500 custom-built gaming computer. I almost bought it. Then I asked a different AI for a second opinion and saved myself $1,500. I think I have more trust issues with AI than anyone I know and yet it almost convinced me "The AI expert" that I was too dumb to question it.
I joke and say that it's easy to know who'll follow the AI overlord because it's the same people that follow the GPS' directions when we know in our hearts that it's giving us the wrong "best" route. . . Yes, that's you putting your head down in shame.
I'm still 100% sure AI is the gift all nonprofits didn't know they NEEDED. (Pound Sign #AllInOnAI). But I have to be honest with myself and you.
This transparency just helps you see the whole picture instead of the social media post that only shows the joy and happy times with AI.
Here's the "invisible" concerns worth knowing:
Companies are testing "AI-Powered Personalized Pricing" that detects when you're desperate and charges you more for it. Example, Delta Airline is using AI to find out if a family member died and if so they'll raise the price for that individual's flight because "desperate people pay more". The scary part isn't the tech, it's how invisible it is.
Most people are followers, and there's real worry that folks will do what AI says even when it goes against their own gut, morals, and knowledge.
Leveraging AI is a skill, so the people who understand it can take advantage of the people who don't, including manipulating AI to respond with whatever a biased salesperson wants it to say to you.
People have no idea how often they get wrong answers from AI, not because AI hallucinated, but because they asked the question poorly and AI answered a question they didn't mean to ask. I asked for a better computer, but I wasn't specific enough about my needs.
AI runs on data it was previously trained on, so a lot of what it tells you can be quietly outdated, yet confidently said.
Leaning on AI for EVERYTHING can slowly kill the decision-making muscle you were hired to use. Imagine a world where our kids don't know how to make a decision without asking AI? 😓
AI will make smart people smarter and dumb people dumber.
Many people are leaning on AI and becoming dependent on the "reassurance" it provides, which makes them lose confidence.
AI provides false confidence in ourselves when we should be wary. There's a silent epidemic where seniors are spending all their retirement money on dreams AI told them are "easily" doable, when they're not; telling them they invented something that doesn't exist and has no patents when they do exist with patents.
Here's the truth: AI is a super brilliant inexperienced 17 year old intern that is petrified to let you down. Treat it like one.
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Actionable Task:
Protect yourself from AI's blind spots.
Second-guess EVERYTHING. Confirm anything important with a direct or independent source.
Actually read the links it cites. Skim the source, not just the summary. ChatGPT tends to pull responses from Reddit. Did you plan to ask a Redditor for your life advice?
Ask the same question to a different AI and compare answers.
Set a global rule: only answer when 98% sure, and say "I don't know" when it's not sure.
Challenge yourself to do some things WITHOUT AI on purpose.
Disagree with it when your gut says it's wrong. Your gut has data too.
Read its "thinking" as it processes. It's boring, but you'll catch flawed logic before it becomes your answer.
Know that, just like SEO, people can manipulate what AI treats as truth. Its confidence is not fact. Confidence can win a presidency but it doesn't make it right.🙄
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Remember:
Smart people don't get fooled by bad answers. They get fooled by convenient ones. If it arrives too clean and too fast, slow down and think twice.
#ExistToServe
P.S. Drowning in tasks AI could handle? Don't know where to start? Need to save time and money? Sincerely, let's talk.
Let's hop on a 30-minute call. I'll show you how you can clock out on time, get home to your family, and still serve more community members:
Regis Arzu (he/him/his)
[email protected]
ETS AI Consulting | CEO
347.748.5078
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Mondays are rough. It's scary times for Nonprofits. Your time is scarce. That’s why I created the Monday Motivational Minute. Each week, I’ll send you one high-impact, actionable idea to help you leverage AI and save time. It will always be a 1-minute read or less. If it adds value, great. If not, unsubscribe, but I’m betting you’ll want to stay. (Challenge Accepted ☺️)
