I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
Is It a Feature or a Bug?
|
Hi Reader, Something I've been enjoying of late are multiple influencers showcasing the limits of ChatGPT and the like. One guy asks it some pretty basic questions, such as to name a number between one and one hundred that includes the letter 'a.' (Spoiler alert: there aren't any). ChatGPT lies to his face over and over again. Another one provides examples of business fails due to AI. Some are pretty extraordinary. But here's the thing, this isn't just a harmless gimmick, it's a warning cry, a canary in the coal mine, if you will. The more we rely on AI, the greater the potential for serious damage. And the early research is bearing that out.
Last month, Amazon, the world's largest retailer, experienced a global outage for tens of thousands of shoppers. What happened? AI wrote code that prioritized its admin system over its retail functionality. The real reason: Like so many companies, Amazaon fast-tracked AI integration giving it unfettered access and control, while also laying off the humans that would normally prevent this kind of error. The lesson here is: Don't trust AI to make the best decisions for your business or your customers; they don't have the complex decision-making skills that we do. I don't mean to sound alarmist or like a luddite who eschews AI across the board. But, I'm also not on the AI bandwagon. The tech has a place and role in helping small businesses grow and scale, but it's not the panacea for all the shortcomings we face as entrepreneurs and in this economy. Make smart decisions about how and where you integrate AI. Be judicious and make sure you have the ability to quickly offline your AI if you find it's not performing as intended. The thing to keep in mind is that even with guardrails firmly in place, the whole system that these LLMs are built upon is shaky. It's all about the training they receive, which is tons and tons of Internet slop, some quality, a lot not so much. As a result, there's only so much 'expertise' they can provide, especially if you're looking for personalized solutions and support. Wondering where and how AI can help your business? Schedule some time to talk with me, a real live human business growth coach and consultant. I'd love to support you. Until next time, PS—If you missed it, last month I told you how The CEOs Are Beefin'. Your success is our strategy!No longer want to receive my newsletter but don't want to miss my special offers and announcements? Click here. |
Easily Said & Done
I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
Have you seen the video of McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski trying to promote the new Big Arch burger ahead of its March 3rd launch? How about any of the many, many videos or memes negging on it for a host of reasons, including how Kempczinski refers to the burger as "a delicious product" or his failure to take a real bite of it, seeming almost disgusted by it. To me, there are three great marketing stories going on here. 1. Going Viral Isn't the Goal Yes, there is such a thing as bad PR and...
This fall my mom was diagnosed with mild-to-moderate dementia. While sad, it did not come as a surprise. It's one reason I sold her house and we moved in together late last summer. At first, I planned outings to the Y and other senior programs, scheduled visits from family and friends, coordinated physical therapy appointments, and designed little daily activities to keep her engaged and stimulated. This winter it's gotten harder and harder to get mom out of bed let alone dressed and out the...
Honestly, I was going to writing about something else for my first missive of the new year, but I don’t want to add my voice to those trying to normalize what is not normal. I don’t know about you, but it’s very hard to shut out what’s going on and focus on my to-do list these days. Especially, when every item seems trite and pointless against the much larger issues hitting the news feeds multiple times a day. It’s more than a lot. It’s way too much. So today my message is simple: Take care...