People keep asking me where AI + society is headed. Short answer: we can’t map the final destination, but we can forecast the ride View this email in your browser

The Weekly AI Briefing

🧑‍🏫 Latest AI thoughts, tools, and news from unburdn Big news coming: Speed is strategy. We’re busy MAFO’ing ways to make sure our clients nail AI. Two big announcements are coming very soon. One hopefully next week. The next one by early-December. Can’t wait to share. What does Nick sound like on a podcast? Let’s find out! (Thank you, DU-Daniels College of Business for the interview 🙏) Links: Direct link, Apple Podcast, Spotify

Main Idea:

People keep asking us where AI + society is headed. Short answer: we can’t map the final destination, but we can forecast the ride—fast and extreme. Think of civilization like a pendulum. We swing hard when something new shows up or when we hate the current outcome. We ditched horses for cars… then discovered 40,000+ annual car deaths. We nuked trade ties… then watched prices spike. We overcorrect, feel the pain, and swing back. AI will swing faster and farther for two reasons. First, it’s delicious—people love the utility (some are even dating it). You cannot stop “delicious.” Second, governments see AI as national security. In an arms race, the brake pedal gets removed. So what do you do when the pendulum’s hauling toward you? Get ready to surf it. We overestimate short-term chaos and underestimate long-term integration. Remember Covid pronouncements? “Offices are dead!” “Travel is over!” Then… back to normal. Don’t wait for clarity—build capability.

The Play:

This wave isn’t slowing. Treat AI as an inevitability, not a debate. Plan for adoption now. Expect a fast, bumpy ride. Remember, we overrate short-term chaos and underrate long-term integration. Get personally AI-proficient. You don’t need to code—learn to use basic tools well, review outputs critically, and USE IT! Double down on humanity. Your edge is judgment, trust, taste, ethics, and relationships. Use AI to amplify those—not replace them. PS: Keep reading for hot-takes on headlines, AI tools, and a personal story + pic

📰 AI News Worth Knowing

❤️ ChatGPT will allow adult erotica (age-verified) starting December. Translation: AI companions move from fringe to mainstream. Surveys already show ~1 in 5 adults have chatted with an AI romantic partner—doomscrolling just got a new dimension. 🤫 [[Read Here]](https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-will-let-adults-use-chatgpt-for-erotica-starting-in-december-182417583.html) 🛒 Walmart + OpenAI = “chat and buy.” Soon you’ll be able to talk about dinner and check out inside ChatGPT. Research and price-shopping shrink; recommendations expand. Next step: “We thought you’d like this—arriving Wednesday.” [[Read Here]](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/14/walmart-openai-chatgpt-shopping.html) 🧠 OpenAI’s “Workforce Blueprint” = AI is an enabler (for now). Their data says GPT-5-level systems match/exceed pros on ~50% of tasks and they push big-time upskilling via academies, certifications, talent hubs. Policy + industry roadmap for cushioning disruption. [[Read Here]](https://cdn.openai.com/global-affairs/f319686f-cf21-4b8e-b8bc-84dd9bbfb999/oai-workforce-blueprint-oct-2025.pdf) 🏪 Small businesses are closing the AI gap. New SBA research: the adoption divide with big firms is narrowing, with small businesses leading in some use cases (e.g., automated marketing). Translation: scrappy teams can win right now. [[Read Here]](https://advocacy.sba.gov/2025/09/24/new-advocacy-article-highlights-small-businesses-closing-the-ai-adoption-gap/)

🛠️ AI Tools You Need to Try

🧩 Claude Skills What it is: Reusable playbooks (folders with instructions, scripts, resources) that Claude loads automatically for specific tasks. How to use it: Package your brand guidelines, report templates, and Excel rules once. Teams get consistent outputs without re-prompting. Great for marketing ops, FP&A, and client deliverables. [[Try it]](https://www.anthropic.com/news/skills) 🗂️ Microsoft 365 connector for Claude What it is: Connect Claude to SharePoint/OneDrive/Outlook/Calendar for contextual help inside your M365 world. How to use it: Ask Claude to draft the Q4 plan using last year’s deck + this week’s pipeline emails, then schedule stakeholder reviews—without copy/paste. [[Try it]](https://www.anthropic.com/news/productivity-platforms) 🧰 Unburdn’s Vault. A curated library of AI tools mapped to Crawl → Walk → Run stages. Great cheat‑sheet for leveling up your team’s stack. Explore Here.

📢 Take Action

Want the pendulum-surfing playbook for your team—skills, SOPs, and safe deployment in 30 days? Book us with a “Reply” or go here[Subscribe

From the Field: ✈️ Road Warrior, Plus One

Wrote this one at 35,000 feet—with Lauren in the seat next to me. Building Unburdn is my second (maybe third) act, and I’m doing it differently this time: no more letting work run the whole show. When there’s a window, we take it—she hops on the flight, and we make the road a little less lonely. Next up, I’m plotting a trip with the kids because you shouldn’t have to watch your family grow up on FaceTime. We’re en route to an LSU game—not alumni, just enthusiastic bandwagoners in matching gear. 😄 PS- Updating this post-game. LSU got smoked (and I lost my money line bet; whomp whomp). Upside… we witnessed history. <—Link to coach’s firing Thanks for reading. 🙏 Copyright (C) 2025 AI for the Rest of Us LLC dba Unburdn. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe