Riding the Wave of Ai Disruption - Digitize Wisely

Explore the transformative impact of AI disruption across various sectors and learn strategies to navigate and thrive in this new digital landscape.

Original Art by Joshua Mesnik

Dear Friends,

In the grand arc of human history and the evolution of technology, there have been several significant waves of technological disruption, where the physical becomes "digital". You have lived through these changes, adapted to them, and integrated them into your daily life. As you read this, more waves are approaching the shore of humanity.

In this blog post, we'll explore the transformative impact of AI on various aspects of our lives and society, and provide strategies to navigate and thrive with these waves of change. So get your wet suit on. We're going surfing.

Original Art by Joshua Mesnik

A History of Disruption (Skip If You Don't Care)

The first major wave of digital disruption occurred with the harnessing of electricity. We turned kinetic energy (fire, water, horse, man, etc.) into electric energy. With its discovery and mastery, fundamental aspects of our lives started to dematerialize:

1. Light Production: Light produced with materials such as wood, oil, or gas. With the lightbulb, electricity is used to heat a filament until it glows.

2. Music: Once bound by the physicality of vinyl records, cassette tapes, and CDs, music has now become digital and entered the boundless realm of digital media and streaming services.

3. Money: Cash and coins are gradually yielding to the convenience of digital payments, credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and mobile payment systems.

4. Art: Digital art and virtual reality experiences are transforming the landscape of creative expression.

5. Computing: Huge mainframes have been replaced by personal computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The cloud has begun to absorb servers, reducing our reliance on physical infrastructure.

6. Retail: The rise of online shopping and e-commerce has reshaped the retail landscape, reducing our dependence on physical stores and print catalogs. Ai will disrupt this further by greatly enhancing personalized recommendations for customers.

7. Work: As remote work becomes increasingly normalized, physical offices are being replaced by virtual workspaces, and now AI technology is enabling workers to do more with their digital tools at home.

And the list goes on, encompassing maps, books, photography, banking, and more.

Original Art by Joshua Mesnik

Incoming Waves of Ai disruption

Is there a tsunami of ai disruption heading our way? Or a steadily rising tide that will hit us a little at a time?

Digitization challenges the need to physically possess items, replacing it with the awareness of accessible abundance. It's the realization that your collection of 1000 CDs is now a click away on Spotify... along with virtually every other cd ever created, for the price of 1 CD per month. And yes, even the rarest live shows and niche artists are likely uploaded online.

Our brain is like a big CD full of data. What if I don't need to store all my thoughts and information to be cluttered in my mental cabinets? What if I can access abundant intelligence, the whole of human knowledge, at virtually zero cost, with the help of ai?

Here are some projections of possibilities on the horizon, not necessarily in order, but all centered on ai disruption:

Wave 1 (it's here): Human Traits: You used to have to speak with a human to have a real conversation. Now Chat GPT will understand, interpret, and respond to you like a human. Imagine the consequences for other human traits being scaled, such as problem-solving (learning from data and making decisions), creativity (music, visual art, storytelling), emotion recognition, hearing and speech, and vision.

Wave 2: Education: AI disruption in education is leading to the rise of ai-assisted learning and digital classrooms, which will completely reshape education. The conventional brick-and-mortar classrooms may be replaced by online platforms that offer personalized learning experiences to anyone, anywhere, at zero to low cost.

Wave 3: Legal: Online dispute resolution platforms use AI to facilitate the resolution of disputes without the need for court proceedings, making the process faster and more cost-effective. DoNotPay helps you fight traffic tickets. IronClad enables you to negotiate contracts. Ai disruption of the legal system has only just begun.

Wave 4: Corporate: From HR and customer service to finance and operations, AI is being used to automate a wide range of tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic and creative tasks. Perhaps the most transformative potential of AI in the corporate world lies in the concept of AI-driven corporations. These are corporations that are largely automated and governed by AI and smart contracts.

Wave 4: Healthcare: AI disruption in healthcare is becoming evident with the rise of telemedicine (assisted by Ai) and remote patient monitoring with wearable health tracking technology that will put a clinic in your pocket and a doctor's opinion one click away.

Wave 5: Energy Sources: The long, arduous journey from wood, to coal, to oil, and then solar has taken all of human ingenuity to make any progress. Ai augments and magnifies human intellect, and it may help us break through to make fusion energy a realistic option.

Wave 6: Manufacturing: Your daughter's toy just broke. She's crying. You take a picture of that toy and send it to your ai assistant. It generates a 3d rendering and prints a replica of that toy with your 3d printer (hopefully not made by HP). AI disruption in manufacturing is close by as 3d printers become more affordable.

Wave 7: Reality: When a letter became an email, it could travel at the speed of light through cyberspace, but also could easily be printed back into a physical letter. You've heard the term virtual reality... What could we create when we can translate physical reality, down the atom, into a bit of code? Could I 3d print a garden gnome to help me clean hard-to-reach spots in my house? I sure hope so.

Original Art by Joshua Mesnik

Learning to Surf the Waves

These incoming waves of ai disruption each bring a paradigm shift in our experience of being human. We will be challenged to redefine our existence.

To navigate and thrive in this new world, we must prepare ourselves, mentally and practically. We would benefit from an open mind letting new information flow freely into our new mental models, helping us adapt to our new environment, and cultivating relevant new skills and understanding.

Here are a few ways to maintain our balance in this rapidly changing world:

1. Learning the Language of the Digital World (Digital Literacy): This means not just understanding how to use software or devices, but also being able to evaluate, create, and communicate information through digital channels. Educational resources and tools offer a bridge over the digital divide. Cross the bridge.

2. Staying Connected: Keep your connections strong both online and offline. Community building with real humans is as important as ever in the digital age...

3. Collaborating: Much of the power of digital technology comes from its ability to connect people and ideas. Being open to collaboration and sharing can enhance your ability to participate fully in the digitized world.

4. Unplugging: Our nervous systems are not evolutionarily designed to interface with the digital world. It takes time to adjust to the pace of the information that is coming to you from everywhere, and the stress of constant exposure is important to mitigate. Turn off devices, get outside, and connect to the original technology of nature and the original intelligence of your body.

Digitize Wisely

In response to the upcoming waves of ai disruption and rapid technological advancement, we are offering support for businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals who want to surf these incoming waves.

Wise On Tech is here to serve as your guide in these exciting times, offering leading-edge digital solutions for everyone.

We break down complex technical jargon and support you in learning about breakthrough technologies so you can integrate them into your lives and businesses. Reach out with any questions!

Surfs up!

- Josh

P.S. All the art in this blog post is original... created by myself, ChatGPT, and MidJourney.

We help you integrate leading-edge technologies into your life and business.

Digitize Wisely