AI’s Ripple Effects: Kids, Society, and Climate — What It Means for You

🧭 THIS WEEK AT AI SECOND ACT

Howdy, this week I’m stepping back from the strategy, tools & tactics to look at AI’s ripple effects. Not the hype, but what it really means for our kids, our companies, and the planet.

• How do we balance between the media hype and doom?

• How do we grow & move forward with so much uncertainty?

👉 Just hit "Reply" and let me know what you want more (or less) of, or use the poll to give feedback.

My goal is to make this as valuable and practical as possible as we navigate the new AI era. 🚀

🧰 AI NEWS + LEARNING

Here are a few things I found recently:

• OpenAI foray into science - Huge opportunities for science and AI!

• A sneak peek into SW 3.0 - The implications of AI on SW development - AI will have huge impacts in next 5+ years, even now!

🗺️ FEATURED INSIGHT

AI & Kids: Raising the Next Generation in the Age of AI

“What skills will my kids need to thrive when AI is everywhere?”

AI is a cause for huge anxiety when it comes to kids and future careers. Not since the invention of the computer, has such a technology advance happened.

• For those just graduating and early into careers or job hunting, it’s a time a of huge, unprecedented and unplanned change

• Those still in school are a bit more fortunate with time to adapt

Here’s the good news: the fundamentals haven’t changed. Curiosity, resilience, and creativity are still king. What’s shifted is the context.

• From memorization → problem framing. Facts are free; framing good questions is the new advantage.

• From solo work → collaboration. AI will be the “calculator for knowledge work.” Kids who can lead a group, debate, and collaborate will thrive.

• From consuming → creating. Everyone can generate content now; the winners will design, critique, and innovate.

👀 Parent takeaway: Encourage projects where kids combine tech + creativity (build a simple AI app, make a digital art piece, design a game). It’s less about “learning AI” and more about learning with AI.

AI & Society: Work, Power, and Inequality

AI is already creating a job squeeze in multiple areas, and from recent news, including entry software engineering roles. We have to adapt.

Here’s where the data points today:

• At risk (declining 20–30% by 2030): data entry clerks, paralegals, telemarketers, customer service, report writers.

• Stable/augmented (shifted, not replaced): accountants, project managers, software engineers — where AI automates 30–40% of tasks, but oversight and judgment stay human.

• Growing (demand up 15–25%): healthcare practitioners, AI product managers, data ethicists, teachers/trainers, roles blending technical + human skills.

👔 Leadership takeaway: your role isn’t to resist change, but to help your kids & team move up the value chain. How do we add human value.?

AI & Climate: The Double-Edged Sword

The climate debate around AI often gets simplified: “AI is bad because data centers use huge amounts of energy.” True — training GPT-4 reportedly used as much electricity as 120 U.S. homes use in a year.

But that’s only half the story.

• The cost side: Growing demand for GPUs, water cooling, and electricity makes AI an energy hog.

• The benefit side: AI optimizes supply chains, designs more efficient materials, improves renewable energy forecasting, and cuts emissions in heavy industry.

🌍 Executive takeaway: In strategy conversations, don’t ignore the footprint — but also don’t miss the efficiency gains. Both are real.

So What? Why This Matters to You

If you’re mid-career like me, this isn’t just an abstract policy debate.

• As parents, we want our kids prepared for their world.

• As professionals, we need to stay relevant as the ground shifts under us.

• As leaders, we carry a responsibility to guide teams through disruption.

AI is not just a story about technology — it’s a story about what it means to be human in the loop.

The real opportunity is to:

1. Learn fast (so you can guide instead of chase).

2. Lead responsibly (so your teams and kids see you as credible).

3. Teach the next generation how to think critically in an AI-shaped world.

Here are a few timely resources to explore:

• University of Massachusetts Amherst (AI training energy study, 2023): https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.02243

• International Energy Agency – Data Centres & Energy Outlook (2024): https://www.iea.org/reports/data-centres-and-data-transmission-networks

• MIT Technology Review – Energy cost of ChatGPT queries (2023): https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/11/1070710/the-enormous-energy-cost-of-chatgpt/

• Google Sustainability Blog – AI for data center cooling & Gemini carbon-free energy (2024): https://sustainability.google/stories/ai-helps-google-data-centers-reduce-energy-use/

Closing Note

This edition was a bit different — less about prompts and playbooks, more about perspective.

If it hit home, let me know. What ripple effect worries you most: kids, jobs, or climate? I read every reply.

See you next Thursday,
Brett

_{Picture by Micah & Sammie Chaffin on Unsplash.}