Hey AI, answer all my emails for me, please!

Over the last several months, I’ve been re-emerging from a self-imposed social media detox. I had too much of my ego wrapped up in the platforms, and they felt like they consumed all of my available time and energy. They weren’t making me feel better about myself.

They are designed that way, so I’m just recalibrating my relationship with the socials. Tech is tech, it's a tool, nothing different from a hammer or fire. People are people, they fill my soul and revitalize my energy. I’ve worked to strike the right balance in my relationship with each. Spend less time on tech, more time with people I love.

So, where am I going with this? Well, I’m thinking about it in the context of creating technology, which is what I’ve done for 20 years with Flow State Industries and Flatstack.

As I’ve mentioned in previous emails, Web2 was all about social media, which was about getting people hooked (kinda like cigarettes). We pay in our attention (I can’t quit you, baby). Web3 is about democratization of the participation of a community in an economic process, reshuffling the deck on the traditional power dynamics in industries like finance, art, media, gaming. Lots of headwinds in crypto last year, but to think decentralized blockchain technologies are over is like thinking the dot-com crash was the end of the internet era.

While Web3 takes its trip down the trough of despair, let’s talk about AI. This is where the action is right now.

If you’re building software right now, I don’t see how you can be doing anything without AI. There’s been a Cambrian explosion in what machines can do intelligently, and what that means for me using technology is this:

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I want it to be easy.

I want it to be powerful.

I want it to do the work for me.

I want to spend less time using tech, and I want it to deliver more.

My expectations are higher than ever.

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I don’t know about you, but I’m busier than ever, even though I’m doing less “sitting at a laptop” work than ever. I don’t know where my freakin’ time goes.

All this means: No, I don’t have time to set up a new CRM—do it for me. No, I don’t want your new app on my phone, unless it will change my life. Make the Instagram reel for me. Write the proposal for me. Complete the budget spreadsheet for me. Answer all my emails, please!

Do my work. Give me superpowers.

This is where we are right now. I recently had a conversation with an executive at Microsoft about the demand for ChatGPT product integration. They scored a huge win with the Bing integration.

The next phase of technology is about giving us superpowers. Us having to use it less. Tech that learns what we want it to do, and trains itself. Tech that gets smarter and better as we use it.

Creating AI is hard. Integrating it is not. Whatever product you’re working on, I can help you integrate AI. And it's probably a good idea to be thinking about how your customers' expectations are changing—if they’re anything like me, your products better be getting easier, take less time, and do more.

I’ve got the bandwidth for one new client right now. Hit me back if you want to set up a call.

-Chris