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Dear ,
Over the past month, I’ve had various experiences with AI that sparked some interesting reflections and inspired a short trilogy on humanity and AI.
This newsletter is the first part—the other two will follow in November and December. If you want to see how I connect the dots from AI to Viktor Frankl, stay tuned.
As you all know, I will be pausing my work for one year at the end of 2026. This also means that I am closing my Bulgarian company. So, I was faced with the choice: either hire an expensive lawyer to prepare this, or – without speaking a single word of Bulgarian – acquire the necessary knowledge myself about what I would need and how to prepare it.
At first, it all seemed like an insurmountable mountain: bureaucracy, foreign laws, the language barrier. And in the past, I never would have been able to achieve what was possible this time. With the assistance of AI.
Oh no, it didn't do the thinking for me – I constantly questioned its information, worked with different AIs that sometimes contradicted each other. In the end, my own knowledge and my common sense were my decisive guides.
But it took away the fear and the apprehension. It gave me the courage to walk that path step by step and acquire knowledge that would not have been possible for me without it. Sometimes it felt like a patient mentor who sat by my side even at 3 a.m. and didn't get annoyed when I questioned its information and disagreed with it.
Many people probably feel the same way these days. With the help of AI, things are becoming possible that weren't before. Of course, I also have human support for closing my company, but I myself have a different standing—I know what I need, I know which documents I am signing and why, and what deadlines I need to pay attention to.
There are quite a few other examples in my life where working with AI gave me confidence that I could handle something on my own without depending on others or even tackle a project I never would have thought of before.
So, AI can be a true blessing. And yet, my enthusiasm remains limited.
It would be too much to pack all my thoughts in a single newsletter; hence this will be a trilogy.
We all know that alongside the excitement about AI, there is deep concern. Thoughts like: Will AI overrun us? Will it take away our jobs, our control, or our very humanity? Everywhere we can read about it and many of us are probably asking ourselves right now: Is AI a curse or a blessing?
Let us begin with the fact that AI is something probably none of us truly understands. It feels so big that it unnerves us and stirs up fears that spread like wildfire through an already anxiety-ridden society.
And that brings me right to fire. Sometimes I wonder what it was like when fire was invented. What fear must people have felt upon first encountering it? It was dangerous, could injure, kill, and burn down entire villages. It was even used for atrocities like burning people—a spectacle that others watched and clapped their hands. And yet fire is something we value. It can give us warmth and comfort if we use it wisely. It served people as hearth for a long time and made things possible that never existed before.
Fire is neutral. It is up to us how we use it. I see AI in a similar way. It is inherently neutral. It has no morality of its own, no intention, and no will. It is what we humans make of it.
We can fear it and stay far away from it.
We can use it as a search engine, translation tool, or coach.
We can lose our connection with reality through it.
And we can use it to learn, grow, acquire new skills and achieve goals we never thought we could, before.
Ultimately, AI is like all new things: Do we use it to become lazier, more comfortable, and sluggish? Or do we recognize that it challenges us to wake up from a sleep we didn't even know we were in for so long?
I will explore this exact question further in the November newsletter. And, of course, if you have any reflections about it that you would like to share with me, feel free to write me.
May October be a month of beautiful realizations and new perspectives.
In the spirit of love and reconciliation
Ursula
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