And it can also do that

If you were around when the Model T was first announced, you could have built the organizations that became Disney, McDonald’s and Holiday Inn, all of which were powered by cheap, plentiful cars. You could have become a major developer of suburbs, mortgage banking and even pop music record labels (car radios changed the way music was consumed).

AI is here now, and the pace is astonishing. So far, I haven’t seen many freelancers or small businesspeople choosing to make an impact by understanding what it can do and selling processes and services to bigger organizations in ways that dramatically change how they do business.

I asked it for some suggestions. Here are a few:

1. Spreadsheet Analysis: Analyze spreadsheets for trends, errors, and provide statistical summaries.
2. Code Debugging: Identify errors in code snippets and suggest corrections.
3. Language Translation: Translate text between multiple languages with context preservation.
4. Legal Document Drafting: Draft basic legal documents, contracts, and NDAs with customizable inputs.
5. Nutritional Analysis: Analyze meal plans or recipes for nutritional content and suggest improvements.
6. Learning & Quiz Creation: Generate educational quizzes and flashcards on various subjects for self-testing.
7. Resume Feedback: Provide feedback on resumes, including suggestions for improvement based on industry standards.
8. Therapy Session Simulation: Simulate therapeutic conversations, offering support and cognitive behavioral techniques.
9. Music Theory Analysis: Analyze music theory concepts in compositions and suggest modifications or improvements.
10. Workout Plan Creation: Generate personalized workout plans based on fitness goals, available equipment, and time constraints.
11. Poetry and Story Writing: Write poems, stories, or even entire books based on detailed prompts or themes.
12. Scientific Research Summarization: Summarize complex scientific research papers into understandable language.
13. Business Name & Slogan Creation: Generate creative and relevant business names and slogans based on industry and key values.
14. Meditation and Mindfulness Exercises: Guide through meditation and mindfulness exercises tailored to specific needs or durations.
15. Fashion Advice: Provide fashion advice, including outfit suggestions based on occasion, weather, and personal style.

Some of these are parlor tricks, the same way the lava lamp wouldn’t have existed without electricity in the home. But they point to a scalable shift in our infrastructure and a real need for people who write prompts instead of following them.

My hunch is that like many technology revolutions before it, this breakthrough is going to create far more jobs than it destroys. But the change is real, and it’s here now.

PS what I haven’t seen yet:

• Read all of my organization’s Google docs and answer questions for me about what we know and what we’re doing well or inconsistently
• Read all of my email and give me suggestions on who knows what or what I’m missing
• Read all of the email of everyone in my company and answer questions on everything from knowledge to efficiency to bullying…
• Compare any of the above to my peers…

February 23, 2024