Embracing AI: A Journey from Skeptic to Advocate

This is what Google’s Gemini had to say about my question of “Are you my friend?” AI can be one of the best helpers available. AI can excel at sorting through mass quantities of data. Tasks that took weeks 30 years ago now take just a few minutes. Even tasks that took several days only a few years ago are now completed in a NY minute with a properly written prompt.

To really discuss this subject, I need to give a short history. I’m an early adopter.. I’ve spent more money on stuff that is on the bleeding edge only to find out I should have waited :). But, in a few cases, I was ahead of the mainstream. My EV falls into that category. And I think AI will be another one of those bleeding edges transitioning to mainstream acceptance.

I had half halfheartedly poked at AI when it erupted on the scene but I wasn’t impressed with it. And there it sat until one of the leaders at my job announced we were “all in” with AI. So I decided I needed to find out more and learn how to use it. And this is where things kinda of took off. I got an email announcing a set of four classes from Google about using Gemini. They were relatively cheap and offered certificates that I use at work to show I’m a team player. So I signed up for them. The series lightly covered what AI is and worked hard at showing how to write a solid and effective prompt. Then they showed how to effectively iterate those commands. This ensures the AI does exactly what you want it to do.

The image below was generated using Google’s Gemini AI. I wanted a specific look for another article about Monument Valley and photography. I didn’t need a high rez image, I just needed enough to show what I had in mind. It got pretty close in just a few minutes. There were no worries of copyright law being violated because we didn’t use an image off the internet.

So I got my certificates and then I got another email. This was about something that I not considered at all.

Yep.. That is my new school ID for CU Boulder, Masters in AI program. At 65, I am back in school as a graduate student. Initially, I took a couple of simple AI classes out of curiosity. This led to joining the AI program at a prestigious university. And I’m enjoying the heck out of it. I will say that when I mention I’m in school for AI schooling, it has been a very polarizing reaction. I’m either looked at like I have ginormous brain or I’ve crawled into bed with SkyNet. There is very little in between those two extreme reactions. Now, I’m two quarters into the program. While it has some rough edges, I’m very much enjoying myself and the classes. I’ve had to dust off skills long dormant such as advanced math and had to pick up some new skills like Python. The essays are a lot of fun since I enjoy writing anyways so instead of spending all my time here on the blog, I now have to split my time writing essays on ethics in AI and the blog :).

I was a very interesting experience with the on-boarding for CU Boulder. Sign up and then have to get set up with security keys, email, slack, classes, VPN access, various training modules for welcoming a new student and more. It was significantly more involved than the last time I attended college. Honestly, it was pretty enjoyable. It really felt like the school was setting the student up for an easy success. I have to admit its been a long while since I had to look at class schedules and work out which classes I needed to take, when and in what order :).

The family picked up the baton and “educated” me that I had to now have a Buffs flag in front of the house. I had to know when the football games were being played and I had to add to my streaming services to watch them. And yes, there are decals on my cars now. It takes a bit to feel like a kid again but this is working pretty good.