It goes much deeper than AI... · AI Automation Society

It goes much deeper than AI...

I want to share something a little more personal than I usually do here—and use it as a conversation starter.

I didn't get into AI and automation because I was obsessed with tech.

I got here because I lost my dad.

My father was the kind of person people came to for clarity. A mentor. A problem solver. Someone who always left things better than he found them. He eventually built a wedding officiating business, and he's the reason I became an officiant myself.

When he passed away in November 2023, I entered the darkest season of my life.

Business didn't stop, though.

Emails still came in. Clients still needed support. I still had to show up, sometimes smiling through things I hadn't processed yet.

At some point, I just didn't have the energy to keep doing everything manually. Both businesses started drifting—not because I didn't care, but because I was running on empty.

Around that time, I leaned into AI and automation out of necessity, not ambition. I built systems that kept things running without me having to be "on" all the time.

That gave me something I didn't realize I needed so badly: space to grieve, space to heal, and space to breathe.

That experience changed how I see this work.

For me, automation isn't about replacing people or chasing scale at all costs. It's about giving people enough freedom and clarity to show up where it matters most in their lives.

I'm sharing this because I think we rarely talk about why we're really in this space.

So I'm curious (and only if you're comfortable sharing):

What's the deeper thing driving you to build, learn, and push so hard in this field?

Not the surface-level goal. The real reason you get out of bed and keep going.

I'd love to hear your stories.

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