"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." — Alvin Toffler
The Luddites lost. Don't let someone you love fall on the wrong side of history. Share this so they take advantage of this superpower.
I was doomscrolling while on a plane and ran across two interesting reels that, when juxtaposed, paint an eye-opening picture.
First reel: American college students protesting AI. Booing it at graduation. Holding signs that say "AI is slop." One kid in Alaska tore an AI art piece off the wall and ate it. Yes, he put the paper in his mouth and chewed it on camera.
Next reel: a 12-year-old girl in China using AI to build real things. Her name is Candy Tang. She's already built apps that make her money: An AI tool that connects people to doctors, and a reservation system for her local pool.
Two completely different attitudes toward the same technology.
And I couldn't stop thinking about this one quote from 12-year-old Candy in China. The reporter asked Candy if AI scared her. She said, "AI never scares me, because I think AI is a tool. If I use AI, I will be the scary person."
Yes. This is the way to think.
Twelve years old, already earning from what she builds. She gets it.
In contrast, look at the American college students. Some of them are forming "Luddite" clubs. The original Luddites were English textile workers who smashed factory machines back in 1811. They had real grievances. Their wages were getting cut and their trade was disappearing.
How did that battle turn out? Innovation won.
So you've really got three ways to meet a tool like this. You can fear it. You can ignore it. Or you can embrace it. Only one of those puts you ahead, and it has nothing to do with age or country. It's a choice you make.
I make that choice out loud with my kids. My daughter Imana is 16. Five AP classes last semester. She uses AI to quiz herself on the material, not to cheat, to learn faster. She treats it like a study partner who never gets tired. She also uses it to help create YouTube thumbnails.
Candy didn't wait for permission. Imana didn't wait either. They just picked up the tool and put it to use.
We all have access to this tool. The only question is what you do with it.
If know someone who pushes back on AI–maybe a team member, a college student, a friend who keeps calling it slop–here's what to say back, with the facts to back it up.
Fear: "It's going to take all our jobs." Fact: AI reshapes far more jobs than it kills. Yes, somewhere around 85 to 92 million roles may be displaced by 2030. But 97 to 170 million new ones get created, and about half of all jobs get augmented, not erased. The person who learns AI does the augmenting. The person who resists it gets augmented around. (BCG)
Fear: "It's too expensive and the ROI isn't there." Fact: Companies that actually get good at AI run revenues and efficiencies 7.2 times higher than the ones that don't. 56% of properly run AI projects show measurable gains in financial performance. The ROI problem is almost always an implementation problem. (PwC)
Fear: "It's terrible for the environment." Fact: One hour of Netflix uses 0.12 kWh, roughly 500 times the carbon of two AI prompts. Are you going to stop streaming? Stop showering? Plus, AI could actually reduce global emissions by 3.2 to 5.4 billion tonnes of CO₂ a year by 2035. (Forbes, LSE Grantham)
Fear: "It just makes stuff up." Fact: Sometimes. Usually because you didn't give it enough context, so it filled the gaps with a guess. Two fixes. Give it everything it needs up front. Then tell it to cite its sources, and actually check them. I walk through exactly how in my books ChatGPT To Double Your Business In 90 Days and Done (which just hit #1 international bestseller! More on that later.)
Fear: "It's too hard to learn." Fact: It's the easiest tool you'll ever pick up, because you don't code it, you talk to it. Try this today: open any AI tool and type "teach me how to ___ like I'm a complete beginner." It will. That's the whole skill.
Send this list to the one person in your life who needs it.
The First Tiny App Play:
Problem: You keep hearing that people are building real things with AI. But you've never built anything yourself, so it still feels like something other people do.
System: Pick one small annoyance in your day. Hand it to an AI builder in plain English. Let it build you a tool. The point isn't a perfect product. The point is to feel it work once.
Try this in 10 minutes:
Pick one tiny thing. A tip calculator for your team. A checklist for onboarding a client. A simple tracker for a habit.
Download Claude Code or Codex (works with your ChatGPT subscription). Both build working apps from a plain-English description.
Describe what you want in detail. Not "make me an app." Say what it does, who uses it, and what each button should do. The clearer you are, the better it comes out. Say "I want to build an app that does ___. Let's plan it then I want you to build it. What questions do you have for me?"
Watch it build. Then ask it to change things. "Make the button bigger." "Add a reset." You're not coding. You're directing.
If you get stuck, ask AI to help you. If you get an error message, send it a screenshot.
Use the thing you built.
Note: As examples, here are some of the first tiny apps I built. None of them are fancy, but they each do one thing well. More importantly, each one was a rep, built with just one or two prompts. Each one made the next build easier.
The kids in China aren't winning because they're gifted. They're winning because they started. This week, you start.
This week on King Moves (Ep. 132), I get into how to build more margin into your life and business.
I recorded it after a brutal travel day. A canceled flight. Two more delays. Then a truck hit my taxi on the way to the venue. Everyone walked away fine, but my whole week got knocked sideways. I still made it to the stage, still pushed through the book launch days right after, and finally caught up on sleep that Saturday.
Margin is what made that possible. And toward the end, I get into something that connects straight to this issue: if you feel like AI is bullying you, bully the bully.
Learn it. Make it help you create more margin in your life and business.
Stop playing life on hard mode. Automate your success.
Until next time,
Ethan King
A.I. Automation for Business Growth
Keynote Speaker | Author | CEO | Strategist
ethan@ethanking.com
Done: Let A.I. Do Your Work So You Can Live Your Life reached #1 International Best-Seller status on Amazon! Last week on my birthday, it hit 63 best-seller categories across the US, Canada, and Australia. 28 of them at #1.
Thank you. Every single person who bought it on launch day made that happen. I don't take that lightly.
One comment really stuck with me. Amil T on YouTube said, "I did not expect it to be this good."
People assume an AI book will be boring, too technical, or written by a robot. This is different. It's real stories, real inspiration, real examples, and step-by-step playbook too.
A few quick things:
If you were on the launch team, your bonuses are on the way. Watch for a separate email from me with all the details.
If you've read it, would you do me one favor? Leave an honest review on Amazon. Reviews are what put a book in front of the next reader. It takes two minutes: leave a review here.
Paperback and audio versions are coming in the next few weeks.
If you haven't grabbed it yet: donebook.ai
P.P.S. My next Hermes + OpenClaw training is Saturday, May 30, 10 AM to 2 PM Eastern.
Go grab a Mac now so you don't get left behind.
Four hours, live, where you set up your own AI agents and put them to work on your actual business. If you've been meaning to stop reading about this and start building, this is the room.
Spots are limited. Join the waitlist here: youropenclawstrategy.com
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