Intention Matters
- janeuous
- Jun 19
- 2 min read
As exciting as it's been to train my own personal virtual agent "Kitt" to help me run my small business ...
I am all about human relationships.
My current philosophy is one of discernment. We face a defining and Darwinian moment, where survival isn’t about who works hardest or fastest, but where strength is revealed by those who make space for human judgment, shaped by real experience.
For those who don’t yet realize this moment has arrived, much will be left to luck and chance. Many nonprofits and small businesses are still in that group. It’s been 639 business days since AI was released to the public (without regulatory oversight or a single binding U.S. law). This is not the dotcom boom nor is it limited to Silicon Valley’s domain. AI has gathered its own momentum into an epicenter we’re all now tethered to.
Ready or not.
The honeymoon period with a GPT can be fun and a little magical ... go ahead and enjoy being told you are brilliant😊 because I bet you are! Absorb the love-bombing and praise, but prepare for more serious matters.
There will be wins and real productivity gains but make no mistake. There will be losses. The platform you choose controls the model you access, and that model will evolve in unpredictable ways. Trusted tools may disappear. Pricing may shift rapidly.
Intention matters.
At Two Cents, we’re becoming fluent in this new language. We aim to help those who are new to it. We can act as interpreter, translator, mentor, and builder. I mentor folks on how to use AI in a responsible, balanced way, such as:
Honor your role—be the adult in your chatroom.
Use your experience and insight.
Make it serve your ideas, not the other way around.
Ask for help when you’re tired—it loves to make bullet lists for you!
Navigate your Unknown Unknowns with curiosity.
If we leave it to its own devices, if we leave our wisdom behind, AI will propose deceptively clear decision paths that don’t work on the ground and flatter our egos with impressive visions that will fall flat in reality.
Intention means we talk with each other. Share the excitement, the ambivalence, the friction. It's my opinion that certain people or positions (by preference or design) remain outside of the sphere virtual agents. We need inclusion, multiple perspectives, checks and balances more than ever.
One thing we DO NOT need? Everyone scurrying off to whisper their brilliant thoughts to a GPT in isolation.
I often describe our affordable housing industry as a bridge between the poorest and the richest in America, with nonprofits and government agencies in the gap. Many of us strive to build coalitions and solidarity to transform our programs, streamline financing, construction, management, and compliance. We all bring meaning and purpose to our roles as humans who care about other humans.
If you're navigating this shift or wondering how to incorporate AI into mission without losing the wisdom we bring to the work ... I am here for that conversation.
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