Gratitude.

That is the line I am hereby drawing as the demarcation between all peoples on the planet into one of two buckets. All other lines of demarcation and divisions are a subset and subordinate to this overarching line.

You have to choose.

If you wake up every morning grateful to be born in this country or even on this planet and whatever country you are in, grateful for the opportunity that is bestowed upon us by great humans that sacrificed for us, grateful to their efforts, grateful for all the blessings of life at this glorious time for humanity. You know who you are.

You are the Grateful.

That does not mean we should not have concerns and make those concerns known. Freedom requires vigilance. I am talking about an attitude of gratitude. To recognize how unimportant we are in the scheme of things and how grateful every one of us should be every single minute of our lives.

The Grateful know who they are. They are typically happier people in my experience. They appreciate all things large and small. They appreciate the flaws in systems and people and appear willing to be grateful even for those flaws as they represent all of us as the deeply flawed creatures we are. The Grateful tend to spend a lot less time pearl clutching and a lot more time enjoying that for which they grateful. Which is everything.

The Grateful are on one side of the line.

The Ungrateful are on the other.

They wake up every single morning predisposed to finding fault. Looking for the flaw that justifies their ingratitude. The Ungrateful are never really happy. You cannot be happy and ungrateful. Happiness is to have Gratitude. The Grateful are grateful for their happiness and seek ways to honor the privilege of being Grateful.

The Ungrateful live their life doing the exact opposite.

Nothing is perfect therefore nothing is right. Therefore, what is there to be grateful for? Nothing.

Every single input is received through the lens of ingratitude. These are very unhappy people as they live their sad lives in a perpetual state of ingratitude and the unhappiness that follows.

Every day is a protest in anger against all of the woes of mankind. Quite a burden to carry.

I am pleading guilty to having resided on the wrong side of this line of division at many stages of my life. To be ungrateful supported my grievances which fed my ingratitude.

Well, I am checking myself right here and now.

There is a line. And we make the choice ourselves. The Grateful have no problem with that choice. They are grateful they have a choice.

The Ungrateful also have no problem with that choice and they carry out their ingratitude at the expense of the Grateful peoples they attempt to infect with their grievance dominated ingratitude.

Sadly, the Ungrateful are everywhere. They are activists of ingratitude. Missionaries of grievance. It is a culture for them in which the investments they have made in their ingratitude are hard to divest. The more ingratitude that piles up, the harder it gets to unpack and release from duty. They often think of themselves as warriors or soldiers of principle.

They are not.

They are simply ungrateful and it is their decision to be ungrateful that leads to their anti-social and often destructive behavior.

Ingratitude is a social disease. The carrier seeks to spread the disease and, every time they infect another person, they receive validation for their ingratitude, further embedding and expanding their church of the Ungrateful.

Gratitude is the cure and the only thing we have to do is decide. That is the prescription. To decide to be grateful and enjoy the humility required to be grateful. The Grateful know this already. The Ungrateful have a harder time converting. It is hard to leave a cult and the Ungrateful are a big and powerful group. And very convincing. They have fear on their side.

The Ungrateful are much more vocal about their ingratitude than the Grateful are about their gratitude. It is cool to protest. It is cool to hate. It is cool to express ingratitude in so many ways we see every day in our news feeds. It is cool to hurt or even kill on behalf of their ingratitude. The ends justify the means is their credo.

You know what you don’t see and hear about every day in the news?

The Grateful.

They are too busy working to repay the blessings bestowed upon them. They are toiling to retain the sense of gratitude they have come to recognize as being of maximum value to themselves, their families and humanity. Hard work. With a smile on their face.

The Ungrateful are working hard too. To unseat gratitude. To replace it with grievance. Every minute of every day it is on their mind. Think about the recurring conversations you may be having with the ingrates in your life. It always ends up in a bad place in which someone is getting violated by some abstraction that may not even exist and, if scrutinized, most of time it is discovered that the grievance is based on false or partial information. The Ungrateful do not care about facts. They are ungrateful and plan to stick to it.

We have a choice. It is time.

Grateful or Ungrateful.

That is my line. Look in the mirror and decide.

Choose wisely as it is arguably the most deterministic decision of your life.

Thank you for reading.

I am grateful for your time and consideration.

I have just launched a new Facebook Page called Random Thoughts.

What I have found is that there are limitations to social engagement here on Medium, as well as a very limited ability to be fully candid on LinkedIn.

All my content that may poke bears or opine on current events in the broader context of history will be released through the new Facebook page. Facebook is best suited to this purpose and allows for certain social engagements not so easily found on other outlets.

I have been concerned for some time that there is no good home for my edgy social content that does not fit into the fabric of Twitter, LinkedIn and the main feed on Facebook. I want to be super respectful of those who may not want general and sometimes spicy opinion pieces, that may not align with their interests, to be pushed at them through current distribution channels including Medium e-mail distribution.

Therefore, Random Thoughts.

Perhaps check out the fledgling site and then decide whether to Follow or not. There will be exclusive content only found there, so if you like the edgier social and historical commentary, Random Thoughts may be for you. Or not.

Here is my opening post about the new site:

Ramdom Thoughts is a Safe Space where all opinions matter away from the madness of a general Facebook Feed. Keep it real and super civil and we will have a blast.

If you are in here, it is because you opted in. It is optional and will not intrude on your feed in any way unless you want it to. And that is the cool part….

When you see a Random Thoughts post in your feed it is only there because you want it to be and that experience is the seed of a community. You are consuming a piece of content that you know the only other peeps seeing it for the first time are Members (Followers).

We shall see, but in my experience that is how social structures form out here.

Thanks for swinging by and if you want to actively participate or be kept aware of rantings and ravings, please Follow and Share Random Thoughts.

Welcome!

There is something missing between the madness of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn general feeds. What I feel is missing is a deliberate, Opt-In gated community in which everyone in there and everyone consuming Random Thoughts content have 100% agreed to see it and engage with it. A social Safe Space.

I will tackle modern life in the context of History. We are not Left nor Right but strive to always be Correct and True to certain free expression principles, to the extent possible. Most important, we want to make sure current news, commentary and social engagement are anchored in a Historical context.

Just getting going. Check it out.

Random Thoughts.

Many Thanks!

David Pollard

What is the Truth?

Our hearts were in the right place when we allowed Truth to be shaped. The Truth has become negotiable and malleable as is required to support an objective. The ends justify the means. We have allowed the arc of Truth to be bent to the will of definition.

Truth requires no definition. It is the Truth. Ideology and Truth are often not on friendly terms. And it is Ideology that threatens to subjugate the Truth to its will.

At its most elemental level, Truth is an immutable transaction standing proudly as a One of One irreplaceable and un-editable event, while at the same time being the object Truth for every single touchpoint with the outside world that relies on it in order to know what to do.

We have had to deal with some hard Truths as a Nation. Current events aside, the long term trend of our processing those Truths appears to be quite positive. That is not a Truth. That last one. That is my opinion. For the kids at home, we used to require news outlets to distinguish between Opinion and News. Google it. I am not kidding.

In resolving many issues and remedying many Truths, I believe Truth itself was involved. Once we dealt with the Truth that represented the problem, the bad Truth, it could then be remedied, often through very difficult methods.

Today we are deeply entrenched in something very new. An expansion of some definitions of some Truths to include many revisions of what had been accepted as Truths. Earlier attempts at remedy to bad Truths may themselves now even be brought forward as fodder for current rationale for certain behavior. Not criticizing. Just reaching for the Truth.

Truth is in the present or rather, the closer one gets to the present, in which a Truth may be established, then, the better the chances to be closer to the actual Truth itself, prior to all the modifications it is sure to receive along its way into the future. Or into the past from a different view.

This makes the Truth itself quite valuable. The OG Truth. The most precious of cargoes.

Truth is hard. I mean it is hard like a diamond or carbide tip of a drill bit.

It is impervious to any real attempts to change it.

We are the soft ones.

We shift shape things into a version of a Truth for personal reasons. But some Truths always come to light. Because they are True.

Remember how you felt when you figured out the Truth about the Santa thing. That still stings. I had a moment over the recent holidays when an 8-year old in our possession figured it out. Didn’t seem too fazed….Everyone reacts differently to the Truth. That is part of the problem. I remember being devastated myself as an 8-year old kid upon learning that Truth back in the day. The Truth hurt.

If we untether from the anchor of Truth, we become lost at sea, at least for a moment. Perhaps we find our way back to the safe harbor of Truth again. Perhaps.

Truth does not move, bend or break.

We are its servants. We change all the time. While in the line at Starbucks, some of you change your mind many times. I have been behind you.

Truth is constant.

We need to be its students. Students of the Truth.

Sorry folks and, you in the back there, please stop rolling your eyes. I really do not want to offend nor speak out of turn, nor be specific enough to even risk offending anyone, but we need to true up. Like for sure.

And the Truth is the best starting and finishing place to consider as we all hopefully find an uncomfortable middle that pivots around the Truth. I was gonna say the Tree of Truth but couldn’t muster the courage.

For my part, I am triple checking every single piece of questionable Truth that I think might affect my position on an important issue, so I can, at bare minimum, fashion an average of the lies into a modicum of the Truth. My hero. Me. Champion of the Truth. My friends call me wishy washy.

The Truth is often somewhere in the middle. First place to look and then if it ain’t there, Watson, expand the search footprint…

In Technology, Truth is critical. Non-negotiable. The tech trains must run on time and the Truth is their clock. And vice versa.

All financial services and banking transactions require a singular version of the Truth. That is a pretty big use case for Truth.

Part of our interest in Blockchain technology is that it attempts to codify one instance of the Truth. Immutable. Inseparable from itself. One of One.

A proper system of record.

The anchor of all existence is the Truth. The essence. The core.

If we find it, it is unclear to me if we would know what to do with it as we have had very little practice nor training. Much of what comes at us today is simply not True. I am pretty sure that is True.

I think the journey is the goal.

The juice is the squeeze. Heard that in a movie once and I always wanted to use it. The pursuit of the Truth may make us uncomfortable. Never feels great to realize you have had the Truth wrong. Not our fault. We are defenseless to the barrage. But, to march towards the Truth, or at least try, at the exclusion of all other extraneous inputs, seems like it will yield positive outcomes that are at least based in thorough examination.

Imagine the possibilities.

Have a truly great day.

David Pollard

Summary of my 2025 Predictions:

1. Tariffs have Geo-Political Impact
2. A.I. Continues to Explode
3. Modest Job Growth
4. Wars Wind Down
5. Dow Rises
6. Blockchain struggles but continues to move forward
7. Baltimore Orioles win World Series

OK….The stunningly obvious predictions about Tariffs and A.I. were easy.

In fact, most of these predictions were actually so generic they were impossible to get totally wrong. Or right.

I did get the Dow one right.

When predicting something specific, I failed miserably, as the Orioles did not even make the playoffs. So, don’t pin me down or make any major decisions based on my predictions. Or do…at your own peril.

Here we go…Predictions for 2026:

1. Dow Jones reaches 60k. Specific enough? Consolidations in earnings and tech driven efficiencies cause P/E value to explode. The rich are gonna get richer.
2. Talent Acquisition struggles to find a new direction. RPO enjoys a good year as companies chose to outsource instead of hiring permanent Recruiters.
3. Many A.I. startups fail. Too much silly money chasing bad or redundant ideas.
4. Numerous U.S. Colleges go out of business. How we learn is one of the biggest disruptive impacts brought by A.I. And the disconnect between the cost of a degree and the jobs awaiting graduates will cause many to stay away. Plus, the foreign student market has changed significantly.
5. Job Markets recover modestly. Repeat of last year with modest improvements. Technical hiring will pick up a bit as A.I. does reveal new opportunities. Not explosive growth but much better than 2025.
6. A.I. Agents will cause a TBD major problem. And regulation will come in hard to reel them in. We have already lost track of where and what these A.I. Agents are doing for us and that will cause a meltdown somewhere that will require new tools and accountability to be introduced. The A.I. Audit and Agent Management industry will be born.
7. Indeed gets a haircut. Their new disposition data strategy comes back to bite them and hard. Many clients will simply say no and unplug Indeed.
8. Baltimore Orioles win the World Series….worked so well in 2025 might as well swing for the fences again.

In general, 2026 will certainly be a year of major disruption. The likes of which we have not see in 20 years or so. Talent Acquisition and all associated tools, technology and platforms are very open to disruption. Watch out for new entrants coming in and upending the apple cart of LinkedIn and Indeed. It is time. Workday is vulnerable as well.

The world itself looks ready for disruption.

Possible scenarios include Cuba and Greenland being annexed by the US, China and USA entering new trade agreements, Russia/Ukraine resolution, major shakeup in the EU and NATO with a real possibility of it coming apart at the seams, oh and Iran will restore the Shah and get rid of the Mullahs.

OK…well, that is probably enough meaningless and sure to be inaccurate predictions for the coming year.

The TA Thought Leaders Group will convene an Open Forum call on Thursday, Jan. 8th at 1PM to discuss 2026 and where all the current madness will take us by the end of the year.

Register to join the call here: https://tally.so/r/mOBLNK

Hope you can make it…All are welcome to join.

Happy New Year!

David Pollard

2026 will be a ride.

There is a lot of uncertainty out there. For good reason.

Technology Disruption like this comes along every 20 years or so.

1960s — IBM 360
1980s — Client/Server/PC
2000s — Internet/Web 2.0
2020s — AI/Web 3

Every single time there is massive disruption. Then the dust settles and significant hiring follows.

Right on schedule — 2026

Perhaps I am overly optimistic. Perhaps I want it too much. Perhaps AI will eat all the jobs. Perhaps the evil keepers of the AI will not hire anyone.

No way.

Here is what is going to happen.

Companies have spent the past 2–3 years cutting the hires they made in the exuberance and low cost monies that came out of the post Covid phase.

They simply got over their skis.

Then along came a viable form of AI in OpenAI. That gave the Enterprise the license they had been seeking to cut all the heads they no longer, and never really did, need in the first place. That does not necessarily make that little horror show good or indicative of good strategic thinking, but it is what happened…

And now we are landing hard, back onto firm ground. Right now in Q4–2025. It is always a hard landing, that looks like the bitter end when it is really just the bright new beginning.

Along the way, the Enterprise reduced and in many cases eliminated their Talent Acquisition teams and many did the same to Human Resources in general. Some of those cuts are permanent. Many are not.

What is becoming clear to me with the benefit and curse of experience and hindsight, is that they did what they always do. Cut too deep. Especially in Talent Acquisition.

We are already starting to see signs of a thaw. Every day there are new jobs being posted and hires being made into TA. Smart companies are rebuilding their Recruiting function now, while they can do so under the relative calm of the frozen winter.

Those firms will be prepared for the warm spring of 2026.

Many others will not be prepared. No fault of theirs. More like a typical reaction to the opportunities to make cuts and enhance earnings during a time when little hiring is going on and, on top of that, AI is being implemented as rationale for layoffs of line workers.

Well, the AI piece is not going away. Jobs will be lost. Forever.

But, AI itself cannot grow the business. Any more than the Internet did. It takes smart and hard working people to move the business, including those that are AI-Powered.

I am very clear in my memory of 2001–2003, when, in a post recession and 9/11 world it appeared to be just as bleak. I was running what was left of TalentFusion at the time, having endured 3 years of hell. Then one day the phone rang and it was a client who had just been told to start hiring.

Then the phone starting ringing a lot and we picked up Amazon, Nike, Yahoo, Microsoft, Unisys, IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, Apple, Google, etc…..well, all of them.

And that is how this works and will work again in 2026.

Once the dust finally settles on all of the reductions and AI implementations, and the staff levels are reset to neutral, companies will realize they cannot grow without fresh Talent. The Tech will only play Defense and perhaps support an Offense, but the real Offense on the field will be with real live people. Just like every other wave we have experienced.

So, what to do?

Be prepared. Look at all your options. Your Tools. Your Tech Stack. Your Team. Your Process.

As this analysis unfolds, with recent major reductions in Talent Acquisition staff still giving us a serious hangover, we will turn back to outsourcing.

In this case, RPO, or Recruitment Process Outsourcing.

And what we will find is that experience really matters when the CEO tasks TA with an insurmountable hill to climb. Experience in how to rapidly stand up a TA function, or augment an existing one, with world class sourcing, candidate experience and customer skills.

There are only a handful of RPO companies and Executives that have weathered numerous similar situations and are still around to lend that experience and capabilities to the future. A future desperately in need of wisdom and vision.

iSkout is one of them.

There are others, but I can only think of 2–3 that were around to fight another day in 2001, 2008, 2020……and now…..

….2026

The time for exploration and design is now. CEOs will expect us to be ready.

Are we ready?

2026 gonna be a ride.

David Pollard — CEO of iSkout, Inc.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpollard60/

Random thoughts and ravings about growing old in the time of AI.

Before we lose every last remaining ounce of our humanity and trade it in gladly for a AI-generated Avatar lifetime companion, co-pilot, Agentic AI thingamabob inside the whatever the F it is platform that does something we are told we need to adapt or we will die, let’s take a deep breath.

There…oxygen. You know the stuff that humans and all other actual life forms need along with water, food, shelter and….company.

Loneliness will be the big killer. We are already distanced from each other with layer upon layer of social technology supposedly extending our reach and also implementing a moat that none shall pass to get to the real you. A weird form of loneliness is already emerging. And it will only get worse…or better, if you are a cellar dweller and your window to the outside world is the size of your laptop screen.

Return to the Office should be mandatory and immediate.

We need to see each other. We need to work together. You know how much harder it is to lay off staff that sit right next to you. Hire Local and you will remember that the moral obligation of running a company includes the well being of your employees.

Embracing AI is like embracing Google. It is a silly notion. It does not move the needle one iota, any more than learning the internet did anything for anyone anywhere. It felt like it did because it was exciting and new and shiny. The internet opened the window to an outside world and brought experiences into your computer that once required human movement and action.

No longer needed.

And now, with on demand AI at our fingertips who needs to take any action or do anything at all. Read a book? Who does that? Actually go to a movie or a football game without an iPhone in hand? Popcorn is cheaper at home. And you can watch two separate movies while holding hands looking at our laptops. Together, enjoying two separate experiences at the same time while holding hands.

Now we have Rayban sunglasses with a supercomputer, AI powered user interface that is on our face looking at our eyes telling us the meaning of everything we encounter. Why go anywhere at all? Just send the glasses and have them report back to you whether they had a good time or not.

Can we send the Raybans to the library to read the encyclopedia for us? No need, we have Chat GPT on our iPhone.

We will soon have autonomous cars, trucks, robots, workers, agents and every single other imaginable variation of AI robotic automation to take care of every possible task and to cover every single job we used to bitch about.

I used to hate Monday mornings. Now I look back with misty eyed nostalgic fondness. No more stumbling in at 8AM on a Monday with a hangover from the Super Bowl party. The machine will cover your shift while you recover. In fact, no need to come in Tuesday….Wed…Thursday…and Thank God it’s Friday. Nope, Friday will no longer have that meaning.

You know what is really weird?

We are doing this to ourselves. We welcome it. We laugh at, insult and even guilt shame others who have the nerve to not want in on it. Luddites.

Well, I for one, am finding new admiration for the Luddites. I live in a small rural community and have always somehow considered my High Tech career and well funded life as superior. Ha. How silly that looks to me now.

I get great joy and satisfaction working the way I did as a young man. I once used Tech to get that feeling. Now I use a paint brush and chainsaw. I know how to run a lawn mower again. I can do basic carpentry and fix the washing machine.

My wife loves me again. Well, I think she always loved me but now she makes me lunch after I put in a shift painting the barn. I think we are in a pretty good place and technology has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Our faith in technology is bordering on a religion. It has replaced so many institutions that were once where we actually practiced religion. We are addicted to the dopamine or whatever that weird buzz is you get when your posting gets 12 likes and 1 comment.

Well, I am here to report from the battlefield of life after many campaigns, that technology is a shallow grave. A Meta grave, only serving up child sized portions of knowledge just in time like a Happy Meal. No intellectual nutrients and plenty of empty calories.

And you feel like crap after gobbling up another AI casserole of useless information delivered into your mind by diabolical beasts hell bent on controlling and monetizing your every move and click.

Adapt or Die?

Adapt and Die.

I am telling you one thing is for sure true. If we outsource intelligence and lose clarity about where that intelligence came from and what was required to earn it, we/you are cooked.

I already don’t remember any phone numbers. Ok, maybe that is my age but I don’t think so.

Remember, one last time, that all technology can do is look back.

The one last vestige of our humanity is the notion that only Humans can look forward and take a tube of paint, an empty canvas and become Van Gogh.

Remember that next time you listen to a AI generated song on Spotify and call it new music.

It ain’t.

Now go learn how to play an instrument so you can appreciate just how hard it is to make the real music that the Bot is stealing in seconds to generate nothing new.

And have a great day…I think it is Tuesday.

Another day…another act of senseless violence.

Yesterday it was a church in Michigan. Tomorrow it could be your church or school or any public gathering place.

This should come as no surprise and sadly I am not sure those inspiring this mayhem even care.

We have been trying to figure out what is happening and looking like fools as we argue over the root causes of violence, never coming to any useful conclusion.

It’s the video games. It’s the guns. It’s mental health. Drugs. Alcohol. Bad parenting…on and on and on and on.

To no end and to no avail.

All the while conveniently overlooking the one aspect that is 100% on us and within our control.

As we search for answers and look for clues as to what changed along the way, that has resulted in daily mass killings for no apparent reason other than the grievances of the individual, we claim no responsibility ourselves.

And we should start there.

I will tell you one obvious thing that has changed.

Social Media and the immediate dopamine rush it provides for those so in need of validation that they take to the airwaves spewing vile words and images of hate and violence.

Voice has been given to the masses. Most are people we would previously have viewed as normal everyday folks, and are now out there on their very own global Network preaching Hate and sowing seeds of Violence every single day.

We have always had crazies in our midst. They were marginalized with very little outlet for their madness with very limited reach for their warped messages.

Today those crazies are taking to the airwaves on Social Media to spread the Hate. Reaching millions.

On the receiving end of the barrage of vitriol are even crazier crazies, who are and always have been prone to bad tendencies. Now those super crazies are getting pounded into submission and rage by the constant anger inspiring content coming to them with the hopes it will push them into action.

And it has….and we see the results of that connection between crazy content creators and even crazier content consumers in our news feeds every morning.

The Butterfly Effect.

The “butterfly effect” is a scientific concept from chaos theory where a small change in initial conditions can lead to large, unpredictable outcomes

This is actual scientific theory originally applied to weather and now to better understand the unpredictable nature of complex systems and human behavior.

It should come as no surprise that Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and LinkedIn all launched around the same time about 20 years ago.

And we have experienced an increasingly steady flow of mass violence ever since.

Now add in a galvanizing political and pop culture war that is inspiring content creation from both left and right extremes, much of which is overtly suggesting violence. We should not be shocked that the inmates getting the message eventually break out of their asylum to carry out those marching orders.

From us.

So, we can gather once again in our pearl clutching and hand wringing enclaves moments after another act of senseless violence to spew more of the same vile words that inspired the violence in the first place.

Or we can take a look at our own role in all this and start asking ourselves some tough questions.

When one butterfly flaps its wings it may have very little actual effect. When millions do it in unison, pushing vulnerable mentally unstable people to the brink of an already despondent life, bad things happen. Every single day.

The tragedy of all this is that those among us that are so enraged to take to their own personal airwaves, are not themselves prone to carry out the violence. They are your neighbors and friends who just have strong opinions and feel they have a right to share their bitter views with the world.

I am sure most never consider the cumulative effect of 24x7 inputs launched at dopamine addicted former victims turned social justice warriors.

I am sure most never consider their words and feel quite justified in exercising their rights to free expression.

I am sure most are so self-unaware as to dismiss this thesis. It is impossible for them to recognize their own role in these senseless acts.

It is long overdue that we start holding ourselves and each other accountable for the words and images we share in such a matter of fact manner. Those words are dog whistles to those waiting for directions and hell bent on destruction.

Marching orders sent and received. And another church full of innocents killed.

Another day of violence as we sit at home shaking our heads wondering what could possibly be the cause.

Perhaps we should look for answers in the mirror and in our own words.

Answers may come to light and perhaps we, as sensible human beings, can even turn the Butterfly Effect around to a positive direction.

Before it is too late.

Ah, the fond memories of the DotCom Bubble. For those of you old enough to remember, the current infatuation with Artificial Intelligence feels a lot like the craziness of the late 90s. Irrational Exuberance. Remember that one.

A.I. has brought back out Irrational Exuberance and put it on steroids. And now we are more bloated than Barry Bond’s head as he tried to keep up with all the other ballplayers using steroids. Got to keep up with the Jones’s.

One of the flaws or benefits (depending on your POV) of our VC-driven economy is that it lends itself to fits of silly behavior with no thought other than to ride a wave and get rich. Rarely do we even ask if the madness we foment is correct or good or ethical.

Adapt or Die Baby!

The credo of the Tech Bros. I used to be one of them. Nobody on the planet was more irrational than me in the late 90s. I can absolutely understand the desire for another Bubble. Bubbles are Fun. Until they aren’t.

As hard as it is to imagine today, there was no internet, eCommerce, Cell phones or e-mail. Computers themselves, if you had one at all, was a desktop IBM with a 10Meg hard drive nailed to a desk in your office and only used for a very small handful of functions.

Then…bang. The World Wide Web was born and heralded in a unprecedented wave of speculation on just about anything to do with the Internet.

A bubble. And it burst when we figured out that we only need one search engine or Amazon or Netflix or this and that and the other thing.

All the rest? Gone.

24,000 internet startups were fueled with over $250B in VC in the 1990s.

You know the ones that survived as you use them every day. All the rest are gone.

Fast forward to today. We have over 10,000 VC-funded A.I. Startups right now that have secured $150B in VC and climbing.

And you know what? A handful will survive in their current form or at all.

As we tend to do, we rush in like it’s 1849 and gold has been discovered in California. And just like that Gold Rush, this one will disappoint most and break many. Bubbles are not for the feint at heart.

It might be helpful to start by understanding we are in a Bubble. That we are acting irrationally.

Case in point is the madness over at Meta. In one 6-month period, Meta went from laying off thousands of so called “under-performers” to focus on A.I, re-allocating billions to hire the absolute best A.I. Engineers at $100MM a pop, to restructuring and downsizing the whole thing.

Total Madness.

And these are the smart people. All the companies below Meta are less smart. And most will be gone very soon.

So, what to do?

Well, the Adapt or Die peeps are not entirely wrong. If you drink the Tech Bro Kool-Aid, then you are choosing to live by the sword. No problem but do not complain when you die by one.

Many, myself included, are choosing what we believe to be a more sane path. It starts with a healthy dose of skepticism that is firmly grounded in our DotCom experience. Things that are too good to be true will prove that they were just that….too good to be true. And they will fail because we just do not need as many different variations of A.I. gear any more than we needed numerous search engines. Just Ask Jeeves.

That basis has led me, and I suspect many others, to invest deeply in ourselves. Our personal capabilities that cannot be separated from us and are hard to learn. There is good reason the trades are back in full swing. Plumbers, Electricians, Builders, etc are making bank with no end in sight.

My recently graduated daughter with a 4.0 in Genetic Science? Can’t find a job.

Perhaps the best advice I could give is not new.

Do something that makes you happy and fulfilled. Constantly be learning. Adapt or Die does not mean the downloading of an App but rather the necessity for constant re-invention and education. Deep education. Not just a Chat GPT look up. Do not fall for the trope that knowledge is dead and understanding anything is a waste of time in a world in which your cellphone can get you any answer in seconds.

That is NOT learning.

I am painting my house right now. That involves minor carpentry skills, painting, prepping, scraping, priming, etc. Not exactly high tech levels of skill, but you know what?

I haven’t felt so fulfilled in years.

In a world filled with Tech Bros screaming at us that every day poses an existential crisis in their precious A.I. Bubble, I am finding deep satisfaction in ending every day covered in paint, bee stings, scratches and sore muscles I did not think I still had.

And I Feel GREAT!!

And the guy up the street now wants me to paint his place. For money. A Painting Bubble is forming. No investors needed.

Be You and Invest in You!

Be Happy. Avoid guilt traps laid for you by people who do not have your interests at heart.

You are the Killer App.

Peace!

David Pollard

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpollard60/

The A.I. Bubble is Bursting was originally published in Digital Diplomacy on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.