Do Business Owners Need to Learn AI?
Alan Pentz says expecting your employees to master AI is like “asking Blockbuster employees to champion Netflix in 2005.”
Good Morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
As AI upends the search industry, Reddit emerges as a big winner.
If you’re in San Francisco, you should probably assume that everything you say is being recorded.
So far, the macro effects of the tariffs have been mild. Of course, the impact has not been mild if your business has been directly affected.
Do you have a plan to replace your retiring Boomer employees?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Alan Pentz says business owners need to learn AI themselves: “Your best employee just spent three hours formatting a spreadsheet. Meanwhile, some kid in their garage is building an AI that'll do it in three seconds. And while you're debating whether AI is ‘ready for prime time,’ your hungrier competitor just tested their thousandth variation. Here's the uncomfortable truth that'll save you from extinction: Nobody's coming to save you from the AI revolution. Not your employees. Not consultants. Not that course you bookmarked. The only person with skin in the game thick enough to push through the learning curve is you.”
“Think about it. You're asking someone whose entire identity is wrapped up in being ‘the Excel guy’ or ‘the customer service queen’ to actively learn the thing that makes them obsolete. That's like asking Blockbuster employees to champion Netflix in 2005.”
“Most of your employees are hoping AI is a fad. They're not studying it at night. They're doing the minimum to look interested while secretly praying you'll forget about it. The few with enough guts to actually master AI? They're already updating their LinkedIn profiles.” READ MORE
Want to hear more from Alan Pentz? He’ll be our special guest at next week’s Founding Members mastermind. If you’d like more information about our virtual group, just reply to this email. If you’d like to join us (or renew your membership), you can upgrade here:
Meanwhile, the backlash against the rise of AI and robots has unleashed a new slur that’s gaining currency: “In recent weeks ‘clanker’ has risen to viral levels on TikTok and Instagram. One popular video from July shows a delivery robot on wheels – the kind that looks like a mobile cooler with flashing lights that look like eyes – stopped on a patch of grass on the side of a road. As a man and woman drive past it, they point and shout, ‘Filthy … Get these off the streets. Clanker! Clanker! Clanker!’”
“Adam Aleksic, a linguist, author and content creator best known across social media as the @etomologynerd, told NPR it's a derogatory term for robots that stems from the Star Wars universe dating back to 2005. ‘It was referenced in Star Wars and in the Clone Wars series. They would call robots clankers because of the sound they made. It clearly implies clanking. … And then we adopted it because it sounds useful.’”
“The reason clanker is going mainstream now is because it's fulfilling a need as we see more robots in our everyday lives, according to Aleksic. And he adds, it has now evolved to generative AI platforms like ChatGPT. ‘I remember tweets from January of this year where people were saying, Oh, we need a slur for AI. And finally, it seems like that cultural need is being met,’ he said.”
“The spread of clankers comes as AI is fundamentally transforming work and the workplace as we know them. ‘We have a social need right now to respond to the proliferation of AI, especially when AI is taking human jobs, especially when they're replacing online creators,’ Aleksic said.” READ MORE
🚀 Free Webinars for Small Businesses
Tools for Every Stage of Growth: The Business Consortium Fund (BCF), a mission-driven nonprofit lender based in NYC, is excited to offer a series of free webinars aimed at empowering entrepreneurs. These sessions, in collaboration with experts from Chase Bank and U.S. Bank, cover everything from financing options and business strategies to tools for scaling operations.
💡 Upcoming Webinars:
Building Your Banking Relationship: Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, 3:00 PM ET
How Can I Get a Business Loan with BCF? Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, 3:00 PM ET
Navigating Your Cash Flow: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, 3:00 PM ET
How Can I Get a Business Loan with BCF? Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, 3:00 PM ET
Marketing in a Digital World: Tuesday, Oct.7, 2025, 3:00 PM ET
Developing a Business Plan: Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, 3:00 PM ET
📅Don’t miss out! Register today to gain insights, connect with experts, and access tools to help your business thrive.
