From March 13-15th, we implemented the first weekend of our AI Proof UTM program where our small inaugural first class met at the Courtyard Chicago Midway Marriott with Carmen Rodriguez Alárcon and myself (Marsha Familaro Enright) as instructors.
The participants were mid-career professionals seeking to improve their prospects with career and life changes.
That weekend we set the context of the learning with classic readings on the nature of education, optimal work conditions, and what gives meaning to life, how philosophy sets the direction of one’s life (whether you realize it or not!), the nature of leadership, how to write well, what is AI, emotional intelligence (important for the social aspects of work), and the nature of money and profit.
Authors and works included Aristotle, Robert Heinlein, and John Taylor Gatto on education and the self-directed life; Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow; Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning; Ayn Rand’s “Philosophy: Who Needs It” and the Francisco Money Speech from Atlas Shrugged; Daniel Goleman’s “Leadership That Gets Results”, and pieces on writing, emotional intelligence, and work principles.
Participants played Improv games to get relaxed with one another and brainstormed on their upcoming projects.
A dialogue on The Westerner, a classic poem examining the nature of a self-driven life ended the day, followed by dinner together.
All these activities both set the context for participants to reflect on themselves, their abilities and aims, and their projects, while developing us into a working co-hort.
During the following weeks, we met for 1 ½ hours online once a week. We used that time for dialogues on readings from psychology — including Antonio Damasio’s Descartes’ Error — the uses of AI, making life decisions, understanding the most important principles of economics through Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson and Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, excellent communication, and the nature of business with Steve Martin’s An Insider’s Guide to Business and Jim Rogers’ A Gift to My Children.
In-between, participants worked on their projects; researching, estimating risks and benefits, preparing video presentations with visuals, and getting feedback from the instructors and each other.
The evening of May 15th we started our Capstone Weekend with a talk by serial Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Raymie Stata, at the Union League Club of Chicago on “How to Navigate Your Career.” For this talk, co-sponsored by America’s Future Foundation, Stata joined our full house remotely from Boston.
Stata reflected on how many technological changes/revolutions he’s seen in his career since the 80’s and how, with each, jobs were disrupted and made antiquated but new opportunities and new careers have arisen – and we’ve all gotten richer and richer. He covered not only the question of AI’s impact on the economy, but what kind of person will best not only weather, but thrive, in this latest change.
The audience had a chance to ask questions and Stata thoughtfully responded, a model of careful, critical thinking.
Judging the energy in the room, the audience immensely enjoyed it. We heard comments such as “his presentation was very thoughtful and useful to our concerns and purposes, especially coming from someone with such a complex career in tech.”
Audience members felt it was a rare chance to have a one-on-one with a Silicon Valley tech shaker and mover and they were very grateful for that.
One of the participants, Raja Brahmakshatriya, wrote this in thanks to Stata:
“Thank you for giving us great insights into the history of your work and the current landscape in the tech industry.
Your suggestion of going back to the basics and never losing focus from customer needs is a valuable tip (among a lot of other tips, I might add) that I’ll implement in my future endeavors.
I look forward to learning more about Viaduct and your other future projects.”
We wrapped up the weekend with final presentations and reflections on participants’ projects, as well as a dialogue on architecture and then a walking tour of Chicago’s beautiful downtown.
