Too Smart for Our Own Britches 🤔

Now, if you know me, you know I love technology. I’ve buzzed out my office with all of the most cool, innovative technology—including an AI-enhanced door system. With video cameras and facial recognition, it’s programmed to unlock when I approach. Slick, right?

And it is slick—until it is not.

Every time someone else walks up to my office, the system holds firm. Access denied. But when I approach? It chirps, unlocks, and welcomes me in like a loyal butler.

Until this morning.

I came downstairs to find my office door mysteriously unlocked. And then it hit me.

At the end of each day, as I lovingly close up shop and try to lock the door… guess whose smiling face is still right in front of the camera?

That would be me!

So now, to secure my office, I’ve got to either duck out like a spy in disguise or cover my face just right so the AI doesn’t mistake my goodnight wave as a “come on in.”

It’s a funny story—but it also holds a deeper truth.

Sometimes, we get too smart for our own britches.

We build something so clever, so sophisticated… that it outsmarts itself.

Artificial Intelligence will change everything. But if we are not careful, it could also undo some of the very foundations we stand on—not because it’s bad, but because we fail to direct it wisely.

One of the wisest people I’ve known, Ray Noorda, used to say:

“Resist change and die. Adapt to change and survive. Create change and thrive.”

We’re in a moment that calls for more than just adaptation. We must create. But as we do, let’s look three steps ahead. Let’s build technology that serves humanity—not bypasses it.

Here’s my invitation:

Let’s embrace innovation with optimism, not fear. But let’s also bring our foresight, ethics, and wisdom to the table. Because the future is coming fast—and it’s smiling right back at us.

With gratitude,
Rich