Is AI really going to change everything? A perspective...

​Seems like everything we read about these days involves AI.  Makes sense…it’s something that holds great promise in the future.  But I can’t help but remember other technologies that were supposed to change our lives forever.  History often repeats itself, and I wonder if it will do so with AI.
 
Remember block chain?  That was supposed to change the way we did things.  I’ll confess that at the time I didn’t really understand it, and at this point I don’t know that I was really missing anything.  I understand that block chain technology is used in financial transactions and digital currency, but I don’t hear about it much anymore.  There was a lot of press and discussion about it, and it just seemed to go away.
 
The same with bitcoin.  It was supposed to change the way we used money.  That hasn’t happened, as much as some would like you to believe.  I still use cash, and I use my credit card, both of which are based in US dollars.  I understand the idea that bitcoin can be used for cross-border transactions, but the floating nature of its value means that there’s a 50% chance that the value of the bitcoin goes down.  To me, that’s gambling, and I don’t feel like gambling with my hard-earned money.  Others feel differently, but bitcoin sure hasn’t changed my world much. 
 
Over 20 years ago, our world was all hyped up about “dotcom” mania.  I recall the phrase “new economy” thrown around, indicating that anyone tied to the “old economy” was outdated and would soon be left behind.  Remember “clicks not bricks”?  We all know how that ended up, in what we now call the “dotcom bust”.
 
What about autonomous vehicles?  I will admit that I use Waymo occasionally at home in San Francisco, and I continue to marvel at how it works almost flawlessly.  It’s not cheap, now that Waymo has gotten people to trust it, and don’t have to price it low so you’ll try it.  But…I like driving myself.  I enjoy getting in my car and going anywhere I want to go immediately.  The act of doing the driving isn’t something that bothers me.
 
The same with electric cars.  I’ve looked at an electric car for our vacation home in Georgia, but with the price of gas in Georgia, the math doesn’t work.  I’m not one who has bought into the “green” concepts, so I don’t worry that using gasoline is going to kill the planet.  Again, others feel differently, and that’s fine.
 
Having spent my entire career in the technology sales business, I’m no technology Luddite.  I understand most technologies very well, and I’m also a logical thinker.  
 
I think before you get caught up in the hype, take some time and see what the overall value to you and your family could be with a new technology.  There’s no reason to be early; that just costs a lot and makes you the guinea pig.  Be thoughtful in your deployment of new technology and always look at the cost of alternatives.
 
Circling back to AI, yes, it does a good job doing some things.  But most of the things I’ve seen it do so far are things I don’t mind doing myself.
 
Perhaps that will change, or perhaps it will be the latest dotcom, block-chain, etc.  
 
Time will tell.