The Artificial Mind

So I’m fairly certain that we haven’t agreed on one thing at this magnitude, like ever (well maybe that time Hostess cupcakes came out in 2011 with that strawberry option, which 93% of society said was interesting, but seemed too artificial, couldn’t hold a candle to the 1919 original that legend says Babe Ruth and President Wilson shared). Now there is a rare uniformity on a whole other level, a shared concern, angst and perhaps cautious hope in our collective priority. Healthcare leaders are so far naming AI their #1 investment focus heading into 2026, even if I’d say they should be thoughtful since a lot of AI just creates confusion – like the massive number of false positives found in some skin diagnosis AI. 26% of doctor groups are buying up ambient AI tools at $500 a year per physician faster than my kids run when I say who wants to walk the dog. 81% of educators like my bride are holding teacher meetings to figure out a new way to engage students whose essays aren’t their own, whose ability to think for themselves is waning. Health insurers, for their part, are mostly playing defense—many I’m told have formed AITCs (artificial intelligence tech committees) to effectively serve the same role P&T committees have for drugs, asking questions like does it work, what’s its utility, should we cover it, will it save us money, and, dear lord, what is it again?  This is no fad but haven’t we seen this story before when we had a new thing we couldn’t quite figure out, dismissed at first, then raced into, realized we couldn’t avoid, and all of a sudden found ourselves in deep, dealing with the consequences having to fix its problems.  Like opioids?  Is AI an epidemic or a cultural shift?  If I had to guess we will wake up and realize we went too fast and pieces of it work, some do not, some make us better, some set us back. One CEO says its saves him so much time he can now walk his pooch without being on his phone.  That’s promising for sure but we should be careful in our collective investment. For me, I dismiss AI and most technology but seeing how my folks struggle now with things has me wondering if I too will be lost and a mental mess in my 80s unless I learn to embrace AI. I know that caregiving itself is becoming challenging and most of the country could use help—can an AI robot fill in? Should it? Can it convince my mom to eat? What about our brains - will we be able to buy intelligence and artificially raise our IQs and will we be able to inject a drug for that, perhaps even order a high IQ in our children? How will states pay for this - will coverage be equitable? This seems ridiculous….but maybe. Like will AI make me more productive but dumber in the process. I’ll be a modern day Jim Carrey from the Dumb and Dumber flick, although my bride says I already play the part well….I’d say Jerry Seinfeld summed it up well for me when he said we made a mistake thinking if we just create a fake version of intelligence that it could help us be smarter, but now that fake version is smarter than us in many ways, so we look kind of dumb.  “We’re smart enough to invent in AI, dumb enough to need it, and so stupid we can’t figure out if we did the right thing.”  Good advice I suppose when questioning the pros and cons of AI in your business, and your life…