We are in the heat of the third AI boom—or the second wave of commercial AI. Yes, AI is not new. It was conceived in the 1950s, reached peak hype in the late 1980s, and then collapsed into the second AI winter of the 1990s.
Why did enthusiasm wane—again? Put simply, the hardware couldn’t keep up with the ambition. The skeleton wasn’t there—yet.

Fast forward over 30 years. Massive data access and exponential hardware advancements have finally provided the solid foundation for deep neural networks and LLMs. Hi, ChatGPT.
But we’re not here for an AI history lesson. Let’s explore far more interesting lines of inquiry:
▪ Is this just another overhyped boom, destined to crash?
▪ Will AI lead to mass unemployment?
▪ Is AI a threat to our safety and well-being?
▪ Is AI making us dumber, lazier, and overall less capable?

And here’s the tea…
I despised AI more than anyone I know.
For the last two years, I have enjoyed attending multiple fund-raising and pitching events, where I watched companies slap the “AI-powered” label on basic automation features just to get funding. I saw AI-generated content paraded around as groundbreaking—when it was nothing but soulless mediocrity.
On social media, AI-generated content has exploded, often masquerading as human-created—fake news, celebrity impersonations, you name it.
And the final straw? AI-generated art.
I’ve long envisioned a future where humans freed themselves from menial labor to pursue creativity. Instead, the picture I had been presented was the opposite: me doing the dishes and an AI platform drawing a painting. A ghastly dystopian painting.

But fate had other plans.
A while ago, I was brought to a situation where it was AI yes… or yes. Reluctantly, I embraced it. And how wrong I had been, dear.
Today, AI is an integral part of my businesses—and my daily life. And why the drastic change of heart? Not because AI changed, but because I finally saw it for what it is.
AI doesn’t produce mediocrity—humans do.
AI doesn’t make people lazy—lazy people abuse AI.
AI is already a part of human evolution, as cars once were. AI is not the reason for scarcity, people misusing it and not being able to adapt and evolve are.
I have been using ChatGPT almost on a daily basis, and I’m reaping the benefits in every interaction. I am learning faster than ever. I think sharper. Even my self-esteem is higher. That’s because I’m already a capable person, someone that does not want the job done, but someone that wants to grow through the doing of the job. I approach AI not as a shortcut, but as a tool for growth. Could I do this without AI? Of course. But at a snail’s pace.

So, what’s the takeaway?

The biggest threat AI poses is widening the gap between people even further. AI, as money and power, do not corrupt nor does it alter people’s essences; it makes us more of what we already are. The dumb will be dumber, the smart, smarter and the malicious, Machiavellian.
Fear not the tool but the one who is wielding it.