Mike Michalowicz on why entrepreneurs should stop panicking about AI. When the Kodak camera arrived in 1888, portrait painters didn't disappear—they became abstract artists like Picasso. The uniquely human skills of creativity and empathy still matter most.
This last year has been, uh, a difficult one for so many entrepreneurs. It's the shifting economy, but it's also the rise of AI and the consternation it brings about. But I wanna show a picture to you. Um, I've been carrying this around. Do you know who that is? I'll give you a second to guess. Someone said Jacques Cousteau. It's not Jacques Cousteau. That's, uh, Pablo Picasso. And what I want you to look at is what he's got around his neck is a camera. Well, back in 1888 was when Kodak introduced the first camera, which is called the Kodak One. Right prior to that, the most popular artists, the ones who were paid the most, were portrait artists. People that could do scenery specifically accurately were paid the most. But after that became the rise— after that, I'm saying after the camera was invented— came the rise of the abstract artist. Interestingly, or maybe not, Pablo Picasso was born, I think, in 1881. If you want to check that out, he grew up under this new technology, and he was able to become a new form of artist we've never seen before. But he wasn't the first. There was other abstract artists. It was in the late 1800s, the very early 1900s, these new abstract artists started to come about. The technology sprung them to a whole new level. I think that's what we're experiencing as entrepreneurs, that the human element is going to be the most important element now. And yes, technology, AI will be able to do many things. It can't do all the human things. So I'm very optimistic for the future of entrepreneurs. No question, we are in a period of change and turmoil. But if this guy has something, has something to teach us, big opportunities are coming our way. I'm convinced of it.
