By Mike DuBose
What if the next major change in your life begins with questions you type into a computer? Suppose that same technology helps you solve everyday issues, yet forces your children or grandchildren to re-think their careers and education. The possibilities are exciting, while others are downright scary!
We already take remarkable technology for granted. Signals from satellites help drivers find their destinations or even drive our cars. Now, artificial intelligence, commonly called AI, is bringing capabilities into our homes, cars, communities, and workplaces once seemed unbelievable. How much do we understand about the technology we increasingly depend on?
AI raises questions about information our devices gather. Who is watching us? Cameras can scan our faces or read vehicle license plates passing through cities. Connected cars record driving habits, while some home equipment watch, listen, and gather information about our routines and interests. What can software learn from those records? Who can access them, and how much is shared with third parties without our realizing it? Convenience comes with a price.
Then, there are the data centers sprouting up around the country. Why are they needed, and what happens inside them? Could their enormous electricity demands raise our power bills or strain the electrical grid? If power supplies cannot keep up, could the risk of blackouts increase?
These questions set the stage for a new series of articles I will be sharing with you. We will explore AI’s promise, its practical uses, and impending dangers that deserve serious attention. You won’t need a technology background; only an open mind and a willingness to ask questions.
Perhaps you know little about AI or heard about it on television and don’t see a reason to use it. Maybe you worry that it’s too complicated, risky, or untrustworthy. Or you already use it extensively. Whatever your experience, bring your curiosity and doubts. We will examine the possibilities with enthusiasm and a questioning eye. What Happens Behind the Screen? Type a question and an answer appears within seconds. Ask more, and the exchange feels remarkably like human conversations. Does AI understand what you mean or have emotions? How can it produce answers so quickly and sound convincing? At times, it seems to know “everything about anything!” We’ll look behind the screen in plain English. My goal is to help you judge a technology that can be impressive and still make errors. How do you recognize the difference? We will explore how AI works and ways to experiment with it cautiously.
Knowing when to question an answer may matter more than knowing which buttons to push. How AI Could Change Our Jobs? For anyone earning a paycheck, raising children, or helping grandchildren prepare for their futures, employment questions are personal. Which jobs could disappear or change beyond recognition? What new opportunities could emerge and who will be ready to pursue them? It’s easy to make sweeping predictions. It’s much harder to offer thoughtful advice about preparing for an uncertain future working life. We will examine both the threat of job losses and the possibility of new careers. Behind every discussion of technological progress are people with mortgages, families, and responsibilities. They deserve more than frightening headlines or cheerful promises. What are practical ways to use AI? During 2026, I have engaged AI hundreds of times, often ten times a day. It has become my phenomenal personal assistant. Two years ago, I saw little need for it. Today, I use an advanced AI version for deep research and also for everyday issues. That experience helps me bring this subject down to Earth. Beyond the headlines lies a practical question: How might AI help ordinary people each day? In a future article, I will open my notebook and share 50 different ways I have used it to solve problems. You will recognize needs similar to your own. We will also consider where AI’s assistance should end and your own judgment should take over.
What happens when AI Begins Acting on Its Own? “AI agents” can take steps toward goals instead of simply answering questions. That raises harder questions. What if criminals, terrorists, or hostile governments give these systems harmful instructions? What if an agent has access to sensitive information and pursues an innocent goal in a dangerous, unintended way? What happens as AI helps build more powerful versions of itself? Could increasingly capable systems evade safeguards or operate beyond meaningful human control? Remember the movie “The Terminator?” Would someone be able to stop them with a “kill switch”? Who would be responsible for the damages? We will carefully review disturbing research and reports, separating documented events from controlled experiments and speculation. The risks deserve serious attention without treating every frightening possibility as an inevitable future.
Can we trust AI companies to place the public’s welfare ahead of profit and competition? Will politicians establish reasonable AI safeguards without creating intrusive bureaucracy that stifles innovation? As America and China race to build more advanced AI, will economic growth take priority over our safety? I’m very doubtful of the present “full speed ahead” mentality and worry about uncontrollable AI problems later! Promises alone shouldn’t be enough to earn our trust.
Throughout my life, I have found that asking good questions, consulting reputable sources, and listening carefully lead to wiser decisions. That’s the spirit of this series. I invite you to weigh the evidence, challenge assumptions, and consider what these changes could mean for you and the people you love. There’s much to discover and so many questions to answer. More to come!
Mike is a retired adjunct professor at USC’s graduate school and former business owner. Visit his non-profit website www.mikedubose.com and register to receive his monthly articles or Daily Thoughts plus free access to his books, including “The Art of Building Great Businesses.” The website includes 100+ published articles he has written on business, travel, and personal topics, in addition to health research with Surb Guram, MD, Allison Cashman, MD, and David Hurst, DVM.
You must be logged in to post a comment.