Getting ready for the future, today

The end of the year is a time to reflect on everything that has happened over the prior 12 months, but it’s also a chance to look forward.

And as we head into 2025, there is a lot of uncertainty about what lies ahead.

One thing that seems certain, though, is that technology is rapidly reshaping the ways we work and live. While there is uncertainty about exactly what exact roles artificial intelligence will play and how that will manifest, it is undeniable that change is on the horizon.

Or, more accurately, it is already here.

A few of us at InvestmentNews saw that firsthand at the recent Charles Schwab Impact conference in San Francisco. Not only was AI a major theme at that event, but it was also omnipresent outside of the Moscone Center, where countless autonomous cars from Google’s Waymo whirred about. Like so many other visitors to the city, we tried the car service out, and it genuinely scared, shocked, and simultaneously delighted us.

This may be relatively old news to some advisors who fearlessly live at the edge of the tech world and have incorporated AI into their jobs in various ways – numerous financial professionals told us this month that they are doing as much. But of course, not everyone adapts to the dizzying pace of change as quickly – or enthusiastically.

While there’s no magic way to overcome that, it’s important to at least consider what some of the emerging tools can do, lest ye be left behind – much like those who still carry email addresses ending in “aol,” and not for nostalgia or playful irony.

That was the primary message at one of the keynotes at Impact, where a panel of AI researchers implored thousands in attendance to at least play around with generative AI. The worst that could happen (at least currently, fears about AI sentience aside) is that someone gets a taste of what’s to come. But in many cases, it will mean learning how to automate tasks that make you more efficient, and perhaps being slightly better at your job because of it. And, because it’s still early days in this new frontier, AI makes mistakes – occasional fabrications colloquially known as “hallucinations.” Knowing how to spot those, sooner rather than later, will benefit anyone who actively uses generative AI.

Or so we were told. Journalists, especially those of us well into our careers, have not welcomed the day that robots might threaten our jobs. Some of us have just as much catching up to do, and remain leery about what AI means for us, professionally and personally.

See you in the future.