The Human Side of AI | #Morelle Mccray | Episode #16

In this episode of Chasing Heritage, Chase Hardin interviews Morelle McCrary, technology entrepreneur, business owner, and community leader, for a fascinating conversation about artificial intelligence, business, education, and the future of human interaction.

As the owner of RAM-Tech PC Solutions, Morelle has spent decades helping businesses navigate technology changes. Drawing from his experience in cybersecurity, IT infrastructure, and AI implementation, he shares practical insights into how artificial intelligence is already reshaping the workplace and why many organizations are only beginning to understand its true potential.

The conversation explores how AI is improving efficiency, automating repetitive tasks, and creating new opportunities for innovation. At the same time, Morelle highlights the risks associated with overreliance on technology, including cybersecurity threats, workforce disruption, and the loss of real-world human experiences.

Together, Chase and Morelle discuss education, parenting, and the importance of teaching young people how to think critically, build relationships, and function independently from technology when necessary.

The episode also examines the future of marketing, business operations, and content creation in an AI-driven world, while emphasizing that human trust, integrity, and connection remain some of the most valuable assets any person or business can possess.

This episode is a powerful reminder that technology should remain a tool, not a substitute for meaningful human relationships and experiences.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

I enjoy face-to-face interaction. I enjoy talking to people and trying to understand their viewpoint and their mindset.

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:06

But a lot of IT guys like logic. That's ones and zeros to them, and leaving the house is a zero.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Sometime in the next year, 70 to 90% of marketing material that we see online will all be generated by AI.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Have a big curve ahead of them to learn because they have to learn how to market and stay ahead of AI.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:30

And utilize it some to stay ahead.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Go ahead and check and see if you're subscribed. You might not be, and it's the best way that you can help us here at Chasing Heritage. Now let's get into the interview. So I had the pleasure of meeting you a few weeks ago at a local event, you know, here in Henry County. And you know, you really had my mind just kind of swirling on some of your experience and expertise and you know, kind of where the world is moving in uh technology today.

SPEAKER_03 1:16

Fast-paced.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Yes, yes. And it's it's something that a lot of people are gonna miss, you know, if if they're not really careful.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Agreed.

SPEAKER_02 1:23

And you know, so I'm excited as an educator to really be ahead of that, you know, ensuring that the students at my school have an opportunity to be connected, they can understand it, but at the same time, they get to learn some of these foundational pieces. Um can you connect us a little bit, you know, with your background and you know, maybe some of the ways that you learn kind of raising up?

SPEAKER_03 1:47

Yeah, so sure. I mean, always been fascinated with technology. It's been around me my really my whole life, you know, from dissecting RC cars to building radios to my first computer, you know, an IBM. I'm not gonna tell you how old that thing was. But, you know, just to the point of being able to grasp the technology quickly, adapt, learn, and wait for the next thing. Yeah. Um, and always anticipation of next thing and you know, just always staying in front of things that can change. Yeah. People that are apprehensive to change, technology's not your field.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

No, not at all. Not at all. So were there some things that kind of early on that you know allowed you to know that you really liked technology and and you were really kind of connected to that space?

SPEAKER_03 2:35

Not really. I mean, I was just kind of a kid.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Found a hobby. It happened to be electronics at that time.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:42

Took a couple, you know, electronic classes and keyboarding classes in high school, and I said, this is something that's really cool. I can do this. Yeah. Yeah. At first I thought I wanted to be an electrician, but then the thought of heights and ladders really are not my thing. Yeah, let's let that go. Yeah, yeah. So high voltage, not a nah, I'm good.

SPEAKER_02 2:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

I'll stick with the low voltage work.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Yeah. How old were you when you took apart your first computer?

SPEAKER_03 3:05

Oh gosh, I had to be, I think I was around 11 or 12.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

Uh freaked my mom out because back then, you know, computers were if you had a computer at home, you were that family. You had 18 neighbors to come over and watch you turn the computer on.

unknown 3:20

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 3:21

It's kind of like that first Nintendo when all your buddies come over and watch it, you know.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

I love that. I love that. Wow, that's that's great, man. Um, that you had, you know, an interest to be able to do that. Um, I think, you know, in in this day and age, our kids are so used to it just being given to computer.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

It's accessible so easily.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

And so they work with computers, they they work with technology, they work in these spaces, but they have no idea right how how that function works. How it works.

SPEAKER_03 3:49

And that's what I wanted to figure out. Chase, I wanted to figure out what's making this screen light up? What's making this do this calculation? What's making it do the next thing?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

So that was my fascination. The how does this work?

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Which made me take them apart.

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Yeah, that's amazing. That's amazing. Um, and so you know, with your your background in in technology, you know, it's really been something that has accelerated your you know your life and and kind of the you know where you work today. But there's also some other things that you've been able to you know accomplish in your life. Um you were the the head of the Henry County, you know, Chamber of Commerce.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

Chamber of Commerce chair.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Yeah, I mean and you sat on you know the board for the city of McDonough.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Yeah, yeah, with the Main Street. With the Main Street McDonough.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Um and then you also have a nonprofit, right? Crosswalk ministry with kids. So you know, touch a little bit on some of those things.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

Oh boy. All right, so let's start with the chamber. Yeah. The chamber kind of started out was, you know, I started my business, uh I established my business in 1999. Yes, sir. And I met somebody on a networking function and said, hey, if you really want your business to grow, you need to join the chamber. And I was like, what is a chamber? I'm a new business owner. Somebody talk to me and educate me, right? Um, so I went and I inquired about chamber membership, and I've been a chamber member probably since 2000, 2001. Like I tried to go find when I joined the chamber, but they've changed systems so many times that there's no history of when I joined. It's just the early 2000s, is all we know. Okay. Um but yeah, so I've been a chamber ever since, chamber member ever since, and it has been one of the biggest blessings I have to being where we are present day. The relationships I've built, the the people I've met, the people I I've met going through leadership, Henry, still talk to some of those folks. Yeah. Um it's just, it's a family. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Right? So is the chamber an online organization? Do you just get online and chat through chatbots?

SPEAKER_03 5:45

Oh no. The chamber is a flesh-to-flesh meeting type of engagement. You show up at a meeting, you meet new people. Yeah. You know, I always tell people don't try to go in and just sell your business. Yeah. Go in and just meet somebody and take them to coffee.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Yeah. What's the value of that, you think? Being able to have that face-to-face time as opposed to just sending cold emails.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

For me, it's relational.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

I mean, especially in what I do. Technology is very much so like finance, right? For a business. So if a business calls me up because they have a technical issue, they have to give me certain levels of access to get into their system. Yeah, trust. So there's a high trust value on what we do.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

And that speaks to integrity, that speaks to reputation. And if you ask anybody that's close to me, they'll tell you Morel, Morel's thing is his brand. He's going to protect this brand more than anything else.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

So brand protection for sure is one of the things I push very heavily. If you're in a high trust field, you have to have that.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Yeah, I love your perspective on that, you know, where it says you have to build that trust, right? And really, really be connected. I think for most people, when they think about technology and you know, just moving in that direction, they don't necessarily see a face. Right. Right? It's not a it's not even a a person. Right. Right? It's like Claude, right? Or like Gemini. Who is this? Yeah, it's on my phone. So I think that's that's really important, you know, that you bring that human connection to something that a lot of people see as distant.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

They should. They really should think about that. Um, there's a lot of businesses that use, you know, IT companies that are outside of the state. They've never met them in person, only on Zoom. Yeah. You know, Zoom was trouble enough going through pandemic. Yeah. I'm done talking through a screen if I can help it. Yes, yes. But I I enjoy the in-person interaction. I get to gauge a person, I get to feel their, I get to feel what they're feeling in the room. You know, I get to pick up on whatever their body language is telling me. If they have more of a laid back approach, I can be more laid back. If they have an energetic approach, I can match the energy.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

You know, it's kind of like we heard at a chamber function, how to give and exchange energy. Um, I really I didn't believe in all that at first, but then I started paying more attention to it. And I was thinking, yeah, you're right. Like I'm coming and I've got full energy, and this person is just receiving it.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

How do I get it back?

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:11

So it's engagement and being more intentional about how I engage with people.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

That's that's high level, man. We should be in here talking about HR.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

You're crushing it. You're crushing it. Uh so you know, in my in my field, right, I I work with families pretty much every single day.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

Highly relational.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

You know, a lot of what you're sharing is is super high level. I mean, trust, right? I mean, I'm I'm taking care of one of the most important things, if not the most important thing, in in somebody's life. And so it kind of brings me to you know, your experience with working with the youth. So share a little bit more, you know, of that with me.

SPEAKER_03 8:46

So directly working with crosswalk, right? Uh obviously I was a basketball coach for uh 10-year-olds, eight, nine, ten-year-old age. Okay. So I did that for many years until my kids got, you know, too old.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 9:02

Um, but I did that even before I had kids. So I've always had a a knack for coaching little kids. Okay. Okay. I'm not bragging, but we did win about five championships for church league basketball. I'll just put that out there. But um, no, that taught me something too. That taught me that number one, you gotta have a little more patience with children, right? But then you have to get on their level and communicate with them.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

And then show them the way, not teach them the way, show them how to do it. Yes. And then they'll perform to that expectation. Yeah. So that's a lot of how I see working with the youth at Crosswalk, working with the youth at my wife's school, just working with the youth in general is if you show them how to be respectful, if you show them how to be, you know, that that human that takes care of them them themselves and their own finances when they grow up, yeah, they will embody that same behavior when they become adults.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Right. That's beautiful. I I love that you have a passion for giving back to the next generation. You know, I mean, there is gonna come a time when we have to rely on these youth.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

And, you know, one of the things that really kind of scares me is the way our children are being taught in in today's tradition of schooling. I can agree. Um, you know, they they get a computer or a tablet, um, some children as young as the age of four years old, right, in pre-K, and they are told to build their trust into technology in such a way that it's really replacing this human interaction and then this human connection. And with the way that AI and education is going, there's not really a way to stop that. Once you start slower, you can slow it and harness itself. Like, you know, how how do you see traditional schools being able to balance, right? This need to be super efficient, to stay up to date, you know, with technology, but at the same time, touch base on some of those things that you got to learn as a kid and I got to experience.

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Sure. So I'm a product of public school and I've learned a lot about the Montessori school here, and you guys are doing phenomenal work, I agree. Um, one thing that and I I volunteer a lot of my time to the Henry County school system. Yes. I do. Uh my wife is in early childhood education as well here in Henry County. So I'm immersed in that. However, when I'm in these meetings and I'm volunteering my time and I'm on the superintendent boards and I'm on the this collective board of people, and we're looking at how do we build a strategic plan for Henry County schools. Yes. One of the biggest things, and everybody knows in the room that I'm in technology, right? My office is right here in downtown McDonough. So they know I'm involved in technology. But they look at me strangely when I say, teach these kids how to function when the lights go out. Because it's not if, it's when.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

Technology is a great tool, and that's all it is. It's a tool to help you be more efficient.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

But you need to know how to function when the battery dies and the internet goes out. If you want to test any any child in any normal home, go unplug the internet for about 10 minutes and see what happens.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

In my house, we can unplug the internet.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

And my kids don't freak out.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:23

They used to.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Right.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

But now they just go outside and do something.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

My son will go out and cut grass. Maybe that's what that's the trick I need to do. Grass needs to be cut. The kids go cut grass. Right? Right? But no, I just want them to be able to function in a world that doesn't depend on technology.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:41

Because at some point, when we put all our dependencies and all our eggs, so to speak, in that basket, that basket's gonna get heavy and things are gonna break. We gotta have a backup plan. Yeah. And I'm all about strategic planning and backup planning.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Yeah. Do you feel like some of that transition to technology and you know, gradual removal of the in-person interaction is intentional in any way in the school system.

SPEAKER_03 13:09

It's probably accidental intentional intentionality. Okay. Um I don't think it's on purpose that they hand out tablets to these kids. I don't think it's purposeful that I think they went about it, they approached it with the mindset of we want to introduce this technology to be more efficient in teaching these children.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:27

I I genuinely feel like that was the the course of direction of that thought process. Yeah. Um going through a pandemic, yes, that made it a big deal for people to be able to rely on that technology at that point. And that was not anything that anybody could have foreseen happening. Right. But at the we're now coming off off of that pandemic time frame.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

And we're still relying on the technology, but we're in person. So I do push for a balance of healthy non-screen time or off-screen time. Yes. And we're starting to see some of that with you know some of the state legislature that's coming down as well. You know, they're pushing for no cell phones in school, and some of these policies are are happening right now.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:06

Um, so I can say genuinely I I I would agree with no phones in school.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Right.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

I didn't have them growing up. If something happened, I mean my grandmother passed away while I was in school.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

They called a school office.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

They came and got me out of class, yeah, and my parents came and got me.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

We survived.

SPEAKER_02 14:23

Yeah, no, without a doubt. And you know, I think one of the core things though that has been eroded since your time in school and my time in school to today is that trust factor. You know, we talk about building trust, building connectivity, building in-person engagement. If you try to go to a traditional, you know, school today, you can't be let into the classroom to see the education going on. You're not allowed to go and do a tour during general normal hours, right? Um the only time that you get that face-to-face interaction, generally speaking, if there is an issue. When me and you were kind of in school, like our principal grew up in this town and we knew them and we saw them at the grocery store. And if you know our mom or dad needed to take him out to coffee or do something like that, that was allowable. Sure. But we've really seen this separation that's kind of been intentional in my opinion. Sure. Because you have to protect the institution more so than protecting the trust. Sure, sure. Uh because the institution has risen to a level of a greater importance than any one child or any one family or you know, well, I think some of that one particular instance that happens.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Sure. I think some of that has come from looking from a microscope of okay, if this happens or if this they're trying to protect the children. I mean, I can genuinely tell you, once you go through the process of getting background checked and all the things for Henry County schools, you can effectively go in and do a tour or a walk around. Now you can't just walk in any classroom, right? Right. That's I I wouldn't expect that as a human adult with you know a common sense brain. I I don't I wouldn't expect to to be able to just roam free in a school. Of course. Um but with the right clearances, that is still allowable.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 16:18

Um and I know that some of the parents that I see them volunteering at several elementary schools, they want the parents to come in and help and volunteer. Um I sat on the PTA board when my kids are in elementary and middle school.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

So they want parent engagement. It's just a matter of the parents having the time and making the time to do it. And that's the difference.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

That was the difference, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:41

Like my dad worked during the day, my mom worked at night. If there was a thing at school, my mom would come home, take a nap, and then she would come up to the school and volunteer.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

So it was it was always a give and take type of environment where my parents were always involved in school.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Yeah. That's that's awesome. I'm glad that you know we're able to kind of talk through, you know, just some of that experience because our parents today they need to know that there's options, you know, that there is availability, um, you know, and that there's something that they can, you know, really, really get connected with. Yeah. Today's episode is brought to you by Heritage Montessori School. I was doing some research online and I found this really amazing summer camp that offers for ages as young as three to thirteen years old. They do science activities, a cooking camp, really everything that I was looking for for my children. And it's only $89. For enrollment, go to heritageMontessori.school or check out their social media at Heritage Montessori School. Um, with your business today, you know, how much of AI are you actually seeing take place, people interact with, you know, in general? You know, is it is it come up in every conversation you have? Is it in half of them? You know, what what is that?

SPEAKER_03 17:59

Probably in 90% of the conversations I have on a day-to-day basis. Okay, okay. Um to the point of people just don't know how to use it. They're using it like a glorified Google assistant. Okay. Yeah. Um it's it's the you know, Alexa of at my fingertips, keyboard kind of conversation. Now it has access to my Word documents, it make me sound smarter. All right. There you go. So that's that's the extent of how I see it being used on a day-to-day basis. Okay. What people don't realize is it's way more capable of that. Um I I was watching an AI masterclass and they basically said people that use AI like Google are essentially using, they they put it in the mindset of you are one person on the Titanic, yeah, and you got this whole wide ocean to roam free in. That's right. But you're on this big boat and don't know how to steer it. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

So if if I'm someone like that, right, where I'm I'm just using it, you know, just like most people probably are. Sure. Glorify Google searching. Yeah, like how do you how do you like where do you go? Use Google AI masterclass? I mean, you could do that. You could do that. I guess somebody, you know, to start with.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

No, there's some reputable ones out there that I would you know recommend, and I can send you a list of the ones that I follow.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

Um however, I I tell people to think about AI differently. Think about AI from a mindset of what do you do every day that involves a computer, that involves something that's mind-numbing, repetitive work.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

So when you put yourself in that mindset, right? Perfect example. One of my apps, and I'll I'll give you a little bit of it away. One of my apps that a friend of our, I say a friend, a co-worker of our, we created one.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

We sat around at a table just like this talking. I recorded the whole conversation on my phone. I took that persona of that conversation, both of our personalities are very IT driven, very idea-driven, very big, big picture-driven. Okay, and I said, let's create an agent that our team members can use to ask it IT-related questions.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 20:11

The problem that was solving. Throughout the day, we're all in the same office. There's 15 of us.

SPEAKER_01 20:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

I call them door pops. You get that person that just pops in your door, hey, you know how an answer to blah blah blah. Hey, have you seen this and that? Hey, can you help me do this real quick? I wanted to solve the door pop problem. Because that door pop for me, for my brain, if I'm locked in on something, that's an interruption and I have to start that thought process over. And one thing I'm learning as I'm aging, starting that train back up takes a lot more effort.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:44

Right? So I said, let me create an agent that my team can talk to and ask it IT-related questions. I'll tie it into my customer system, I'll tie it into my data so it can only see my data. And I'm hosting it internally.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

So now they can ask that question to the agent, get an answer the way Cameron and I would respond, and have a step-by-step process on how to get to the resolution.

SPEAKER_02 21:09

Yeah, that's beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 21:11

I'm not doing it to make them less smart.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Right.

SPEAKER_03 21:14

I'm not doing it to make them lazy.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:16

Because I built in a prompt system so it says, okay, have you tried this? Okay, you've tried that. I would try this next.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:24

Once you try that, report back and let me know what you found. So it would be just as like we were having a conversation right now to get them to the end result.

SPEAKER_02 21:32

That's awesome. I love that. How much efficiency do you think that saves your company or minutes? Minutes or hours to it. What does that look like?

SPEAKER_03 21:42

I put in a usage calendar or a usage report that also calculates estimated save time. It's been in production for about three weeks. Yes. And when I last checked it, it saved Cameron and I the door pop time. Mm-hmm. Of about 14 hours. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Fourteen hours over how long?

SPEAKER_03 22:04

Three week period.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Three-week period. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

And that's with minimal usage. Not all of our users are on it.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Like 4.75 hours a week.

SPEAKER_03 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Yeah. That's that's pretty nice. Yeah. Do you like seeing that type of saving in your company? As a business owner.

SPEAKER_03 22:22

As a business owner, yes, because that means I can spend more time. Not saying things aren't important. I can spend more time on more pressing issues versus answering a door pop question. Yes. I always welcome a door pop. I don't mind it if you've exhausted all of your resources first.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

Yeah, yeah. So let's take those metrics and let's let's kind of put them on steroids. Sure. Right? And let's say like I'm a company like Amazon.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

And I'm using AI that can generate and save time. Right? One, because time's an important thing. Time is important. But also money. Right. Right? We we got to talk about, you know, financial allocation. Sure. And so at what, you know, at what rate do you think these companies are utilizing these systems to identify saving of money, saving of time, you know, really generating these metrics that we just kind of talked about.

SPEAKER_03 23:17

Sure. So I can tell you for a fact, I know Amazon is using AI, and they will tell you that I believe their whole inventory system is almost 100% AI driven now.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Because when you look at the images, they'll tell you AI created content, AI generated description, AI generated that. Yeah. I believe they're moving more along those lines to AI generate as much repetitive work as they can. Because if you've ever listed anything on eBay or Craigslist back in the day, or any of those things, those things take a lot of time.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:48

Take a picture of the product, upload it, describe it. That takes a lot of time. And if you can automate that with AI, hey, scrub the internet. I've got uh 200,000 of these widgets. Yeah. Build me a description that's accurate and post it on my Amazon page.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Okay. Okay. That's really awesome. I can see that, right?

SPEAKER_03 24:09

And then allocate, you know, out of these 200,000 widgets, they're in these separate warehouses around the state, around the United States. Yes. So I can see how AI could be more beneficial in that regard.

SPEAKER_01 24:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

What do you do with those people that were doing that manually though?

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:23

Where do those employees go? Hopefully they got upskilled.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Right.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

Hopefully they didn't go back to the warehouse and start loading trucks, right? Or driving trucks.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

They didn't. Right. They got laid off.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

They got laid off. I know. I know. We saw that in the news. We know that's what Amazon did. We saw that in the news.

SPEAKER_02 24:36

There was just not you know, because because again, you're shifting the goal system.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

Right. Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

The goalpost no longer becomes employee retention. Right. Employing, um, enjoyment, you know, any of those metrics, all that stuff goes away.

SPEAKER_03 24:52

Well, and that's a big agent, too.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

You know? And it's replaced by company efficiency. Sure. It's replaced by bottom line, you know, returns. And, you know, so that shift entirely means a lot of how companies had to look at their workforce has really changed.

SPEAKER_03 25:12

Well, and that's why I believe heavily in workforce development, too. Yeah. You know, workforce development is one of the things the chamber is known for. They want to make sure the the next wave of people that are entering this workforce in this county, they have the tools and the skill set that they need to succeed.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

Right.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

Um, a lot of the functions and programming that's going on right now, there's one by the um, I think it's SBDC, uh small business council for something. University of Georgia is putting it together. Richard Snickers, the um the head of that for our area.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:43

It's free training. I won't say free, it's included training into what we pay in our taxes, yeah that the small business owners can go and attend these classes and get free mentorship.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

From this program that state provided, that they pay for, we pay for.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

That's amazing. Um and I love to hear that, you know, at least the local organization is, you know, really kind of moving in, you know, moving into that direction. I mean it's really needed. Sure. You know, if we don't invest in the people who've built companies and raise them up, then we're gonna have a lot of small businesses the backbone of America. A lot of really difficult, you know, things to to kind of face. Sure. Um, what do you think one of the major downfalls of AI is gonna be? And when do you think we'll see that?

SPEAKER_03 26:31

I mean, we're seeing it now. Okay. Um threat actors are using it to create their root kits and hack kits a whole lot faster.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 26:38

Um and it's making a lot of the folks that are trying to keep us safe, the white hat hackers that are trying to keep us safe, is making them work harder and try to keep up. Uh so we're seeing that happen on a rapid basis. You could write a virus really quickly now if you wanted to.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

So the same way. Well, let's talk a little bit more about that. So you I know in AI you can generate code, which can be built an app, or build a website, or build a specific function between two different software capabilities. Can that be used the same way to build a virus? To say, hey, build a virus.

SPEAKER_03 27:11

100% malicious, yeah. I was working um with a client last week, and they said they they went to a website, it looked like a legitimate website, yeah, but a couple things fell off to them.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:23

Um turned out we started investigating and looking into it. They had used an AI. Whoever built this website used AI to build it and injected some malicious code in the background of the website.

SPEAKER_01 27:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 27:34

So if you clicked any link from that page, yeah, you were infected. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:39

So that's how fast it's growing and how good it's getting. And the the the coin phrase with AI is it's only going to get better from here.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Right?

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:49

I mean, you're seeing ads on TV if you watch normal local stations, you'll see commercials that are now using full-blown AI video.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:58

But at some point we won't be able to tell that it's AI, which is the scary part.

SPEAKER_02 28:02

So there's a a really cool you know metric that I was looking at. It's interesting to me, but sometime in the next year, 70 to 90 percent of marketing material that we see online will all be generated by AI.

SPEAKER_03 28:18

100%. I my marketing firm that we use, they're using AI to generate content now. So we're seeing that a lot. Um, that's actually where I see it the most right now. Okay. Is a lot of marketing is AI generated.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:31

How do you so as a business owner, I think, how do I stand out? What makes me unique at that point? You know, because I could use AI, ChatGPT, write me, you know, 15 blog articles I can post throughout the year. Right?

unknown 28:46

Right.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

How relevant is that content? We don't know.

unknown 28:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:48

How searchable is that content? We don't know.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Right.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

You know, people are using chat like it's a glorified search engine. ChatGPT, I need an IT company near me. Is that showing up?

SPEAKER_01 29:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:01

Is that content? Being that I created in ChatGPT those blogs, am I showing up on this search?

SPEAKER_01 29:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:06

You know, so it's a lot more than that. So I think the people that are entering the marketing field now have a big curve ahead of them to learn because they have to learn how to market and stay ahead of AI and utilize it some to stay ahead.

SPEAKER_02 29:20

So I love how you say they're using it like a glorified Google search. Do you see a connection between the way Google capitalized on ads and marketing and the connection to AI? Do you see the two coming together? In other words, Google makes billions of dollars almost every second on ads and generating new content based off of who pays them the most money.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

100%. They're gonna create it.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

AI set up to move in that direction as well.

SPEAKER_03 29:55

So I've been tracking Jim and I quite a bit, which is Google's AI. Um I feel like they're trying to capitalize on some of that so they don't lose their ad revenue because people are using these, you know, AI engines to find things. Yes. Right? Prime example. We were traveling, going to Savannah. We like unique restaurants.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 30:17

I I don't want to go to a chain if I'm traveling, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:19

Pop it in Chat GPT. Hey, I'm traveling to Savannah, Georgia.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:23

I'd like to find some unique restaurants along the way. Right? I could have easily Google search that. Yes. But that's going to turn into a 15-minute me scrolling and clicking through Yelp ads and Google reviews. I said, ChatGPT, just show me the top 10.

unknown 30:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

And the ones that rate it the best. Yeah. So it's almost like somebody going out, filtering the internet, and bringing you the best results and say, here you pick.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

Right? I feel like that piece is what Google's going to miss out on because they're not getting those ad clicks that those vendors are paying to use to get people to come to their establishment.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Yeah. Well, isn't that what AI is doing though?

SPEAKER_03 31:03

100%. Searching the internet. 100%. But it's not clicking a lot of it.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

Whatever data set that it wants, and it can't give you all the choices. It can't. It can't give you a hundred million.

SPEAKER_03 31:12

I mean, if you ask it to, it will.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

Well, you might have to prompt it again and again and again and again and again and again. But there's already built-in limitations, right, in the amount of information that it will even generate for you. Most AI platforms. So why do you think that is? If it has all the information available, why isn't it giving you all of the information? Why is there a limit on how much?

SPEAKER_03 31:37

I think the folks that are marketing, so like just like I spit, you know, spoke earlier about when you build your website using AI searchable content.

SPEAKER_01 31:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:48

I think the people that are ahead of that game on the marketing front are the ones that are going to succeed in the long run.

SPEAKER_01 31:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 31:54

We found a nice little Italian restaurant in Savannah.

SPEAKER_01 31:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

It showed up on Google, it showed up on Yelp, it showed up on Apple Maps, it showed up on all the platforms. Okay. But it also showed up, and it was the only Italian spot that showed up on ChatGPT.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

Interesting. Interesting.

SPEAKER_03 32:07

Now there's probably 15 other Italian restaurants in Savannah, Georgia. Yeah. But that's the only one that showed up on ChatGPT. Yeah. So they're doing something right, and their marketing team is marketing them well to get them to show up on the search, on the on the glorified search engine.

SPEAKER_02 32:23

So one of one of the interesting things I was reading about is kind of this legacy AI, right? Where we're using these AI databases to generate more AI databases. At what point does new information or new content just disappear?

SPEAKER_03 32:41

When we do.

SPEAKER_02 32:41

And and everything that we generate just comes off of this AI database.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

So you have to think about it, you know, where did AI come from?

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:52

Right? So you peel back that layer. Where did Google come from? How did Google become so famous?

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:59

Right? They became famous because people searched.

SPEAKER_01 33:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:03

And we searched and we used the internet like it was our buddy. That's right. Right? We find something, we would post it on Wikipedia. Of course you can go in and edit anything you want on Wikipedia. And then Wikipedia learns. And then this other platform learns. So it's a constant, we've been using AI for years. We just started calling it AI. So we've got all these platforms that we have, as humans, have fed into this system and have given our knowledge and ideas into this system that people around the United States, really around the world are now capitalizing on because AI is pulling that content. Yeah. So the best way to stay ahead of that curve, don't share your ideas on the internet.

unknown 33:44

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

Keep some of it to yourself. Right. Okay.

unknown 33:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

Today's episode is brought to you in partnership with Just Kingdom Sports, Henry County's one of best kept secrets, where your child can receive structured education in our upcoming soccer season. Their league runs from August through October, two practices a week in games, everything that you need for your child to play in an all-inclusive league. Go to their website at justkingdomsports.com or check them out on their social media at Just Kingdom Sports. Yeah, and I love how you, you know, kind of just explained that, you know, that way. I think it was really healthy, you know, for people to realize this really isn't new.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

No, it's not. It's you know what's content shared.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

You know, what we're dealing with and and what we're operating in really is not new. Um I think the place where the the shift is really happening though, is as we raise up a younger generation that has a frequency of using these systems all day, every waking minute second. It has now created new functions and new spaces where we weren't using this type of technology before. Um and in some ways we didn't, we never needed to. Also true. Do we need AI to tell us, you know, how to take a walk outside? Right. Without ever going outside and never taking a walk.

SPEAKER_03 35:19

You'd be surprised at some of the prompts you get.

SPEAKER_02 35:21

And and so it's like, where does, we know, where does that process come from? That thought process of instead of trying and experiencing physically, emotionally, mentally, we've now shifted and given that process entirely away to generate, well, I think this will make me feel the best. Right. And AI will tell you, this pathway will make you feel the best.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

Without actually knowing who you are. There's not really a way, currently, for AI to identify how you think, how you learn, whether you like it hot or whether you like it cold. Right? It just gives you a generative analysis of other people who are similar to you.

SPEAKER_03 36:10

But it's learning from you at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

But it can't learn emotions.

SPEAKER_03 36:14

But it can't.

SPEAKER_02 36:15

It can't learn physical senses.

SPEAKER_03 36:18

It can't.

SPEAKER_02 36:18

It can only learn an allocated data set that says this is what this means to a computer.

SPEAKER_00 36:24

Right.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

Not this is what this means to the physical sensation of a person. Right. And so I that's the part that's really difficult for me to rationalize, right? Look at our national parks. We never had to charge money for our national parks. Ever before.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Yeah. I was planning a trip to Mount Rushmore. But now realize that quickly.

SPEAKER_02 36:45

But now we have to pay to go to national parks. Why is that?

SPEAKER_03 36:50

That's a great question. I'm not sure. I just assumed the government had a piece to do with that.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

One of the reasons is people aren't using it anymore.

SPEAKER_03 36:56

Oh, so people aren't going to lost their revenue.

SPEAKER_02 36:58

The tolls that used to be paid, that bridge used to cross. That makes sense. Right? To get into the national park. That bridge toll paid a portion of the fees for the national park. And so and you know, there's just some of these real-world applications that we're losing minute by minute, second by second, with without I I don't really see a recourse because AI doesn't benefit from telling you to go outside.

SPEAKER_03 37:23

No.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

There's no financial gain of sending you to a blackout area in Wisconsin. Sure, sure. Everything that it's generating to is built off of Google and it's it's built off of Facebook, and it's built off of collaborating these people together in such a way that it has the greatest control. And people are not really aware of this kind of massive shift and movement towards this like one room operation lifestyle. Yeah. Where I don't have to go outside to get anything. Isolation need. And and one of my really good friends, he runs a technology company and he doesn't leave the house.

SPEAKER_01 38:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

He's he was raised, you know, in the military, and he and he learned a lot of the technology skills from there. Sure. And he does he doesn't have to leave, doesn't have to go nowhere. Nor does he want to. I have to convince him. Like, hey, this is really where it's at. And he's like, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't think so. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 38:30

I think that's a personality thing, though. Um, I really do, because uh IT guys in by in general, this is like if I were my my true IT guy self, you know, 15, 20 years ago, I would never sit across the table from you and have a conversation like this because I'm I was an introvert at that point.

SPEAKER_04 38:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 38:46

You know, it was I think it's a personality trait thing because if you I enjoy face-to-face interaction. I enjoy talking to people and trying to understand their viewpoint and their mindset.

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:59

But a lot of IT guys like logic. That's ones and zeros to them. And leaving the house is a zero. You know, they don't want to do it.

SPEAKER_02 39:09

Yeah, and and that's you know, that's interesting, which is that empathy, right? Being being able to connect with with another person. What do you think is stopping us as humans from just relying on AI to start answering those high-level emotional questions for us?

SPEAKER_03 39:30

I think it's the information we feed it, you know? Not once have I ever told any learning language model that I'm upset with you or I'm upset. I I why? Why does that matter to a computer?

SPEAKER_01 39:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:44

But again, I look at computers differently, right? I realize they're just circuit boards and plastic and metal.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

And that's not where my that that's not my savior, that's not where I belong, you know. I just use that as a tool to share what I've been blessed with to provide help and aid to people that I come in contact with.

SPEAKER_02 40:06

So let me pose this question to you. If you were raised up to use your phone for your entertainment, for your emotional connectivity, for what you're doing in the morning and the evening, and how you sleep, and you are operating in that space, let's say 15 years, with limited interaction with other people, parents, you know, probably down to four hours a day. And the rest of the time that you're awake, which would be about, you know, six to eight, is all geared towards technology.

SPEAKER_03 40:42

That sounds like torture.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

Do you think that would shift your reliance on the technology as opposed to?

SPEAKER_03 40:50

You would be a hundred percent reliant. I mean, if you're spending eight, ten hours a day on technology and you can't turn it off. Yeah, uh you know, I get some people have jobs that they can't disconnect, and I get that. But you have to be intentional about disconnecting. Yeah. You know, I definitely am more intentional about disconnecting.

SPEAKER_01 41:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:08

I I hated cutting grass. My my dad owned a landscaping company, so on Saturdays and Sundays after church, we cut grass. You know? So I grew up as an adult. I hated it, but now as an adult, I enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 41:22

I enjoy being outside, even though everything outside is trying to bite me or kill me.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:27

I enjoy being outside cutting that grass. I enjoy that disconnect.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:31

You know, I'll put in some earplugs for that lawnmower and so loud, but I enjoy that solitude. Yes. I also enjoy going to hang out at the pool with friends too.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

Yeah, no, and I and I love that for you. And and one of the reasons why I pose a question that way is because sixty percent of our youth between the ages of five and seventeen spend six to eight hours every single day with technology.

SPEAKER_03 41:57

Well, there are scientific studies that show that's not healthy as well. Yeah. So I would definitely agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 42:04

You know, we you your one your answer was you'd become very reliant, if not one hundred percent. Sure. So we're raising generations, generations now, because that's a wide range, right? Six to eighteen. We've got two generations built into that that are now one hundred percent reliant on technology. And so when we talk about this shift in AI and life, in business, right? Whoever becomes the master of the AI systems becomes a master of our youth, which in then turn is the master of the world. Because all you have to do is generate systems and processes that kind of move in in that direction. Um and that's one of the reasons why I'm so happy we have someone like you who adds that life and adds that connectivity, right, from your business, from your personal experience, being a leader in the community. Um I think it's just so powerful that that again you are moving and teaching people in a direction to identify the pitfalls, but also prepare themselves to use these systems in a really positive way. Sure. Because you can combat any of these things that we've talked about today by just some simple basic education.

SPEAKER_01 43:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:26

You know, like you said, AI has not trained itself yet to go, well, we're gonna hide that info. We're not gonna tell you this is bad for you. Right. Like you're gonna tell you, hey, you should not sit in a chair all day.

SPEAKER_03 43:37

You shouldn't eat that pint of ice cream, you know. Yes, yes, yes. Well, it's nothing different than you know what we've been taught, right? And again, it's like you said, it's what we teach the next generations on how they interact with technology. And I'm a big proponent of that.

SPEAKER_01 43:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 43:54

Don't rely on technology. Teach these kids how to function when the lights go out.

SPEAKER_01 43:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Make them learn something. Like, quick story. When I was growing up, we had a book report. We had to go to this thing called a neighborhood library, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:11

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

We had to check out books, bring them home, work with my mom and my dad to build this book report. I remember mine to this day. It was a book report on Nefertiti.

SPEAKER_01 44:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

I had to draw Nefertiti's bust out, and I had to do a whole 10-page book report.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 44:28

On Nefertiti. Yes, sir. I remember it to this day. I'll never forget it.

SPEAKER_01 44:32

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 44:33

But I remember going through that process, looking through the encyclopedias, gathering all this content. As we talk about how technology has changed and how things have shifted with that, now it's like, okay, now I can just Google Nefertiti and find out information.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 44:48

Now I can ask AI about Nefertiti and find out this information.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

Whoa, where did the time go? But it removed me going to the library and whispering to the librarian, I want to check out these books. To yeah, I'm just gonna sit here and watch TV and pull this up and I'm gonna skim through this. Yep, that's good enough. I'm copy and paste it, do this, pull this together, print out this image from Chat GPT, and then trace over it, make it look like I drew Nefertiti, and turn it in and see what I get on a report. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I think that's the biggest shift in how we learn and our exposure to it.

SPEAKER_01 45:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

Fun fact, as an adult, I have more of an appreciation for history now because I feel like I went through that process of learning how to gather information.

SPEAKER_01 45:38

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_03 45:40

So now when I go to like the national mall, I can relate with all these exhibits in the national mall because I had to do book reports on all these things.

SPEAKER_02 45:48

Okay, okay, yeah. Connectivity to it.

SPEAKER_03 45:50

So I don't want that to be lost. Yes, yes. And I feel like technology is closing that gap closer and closer and faster and faster. Another prime example. The ladies in my office will say, Yeah, I want to go on a road trip. I said, Okay, where are you going?

SPEAKER_01 46:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:05

One lady said, I want to go visit the Grand Canyon.

SPEAKER_01 46:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:09

I said, Cool. I said, look it up. You know, give her some travel tips.

SPEAKER_01 46:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:15

I didn't realize she was talking about doing a Google Earth visit. Nice. Nailed it. That's what she was talking about the whole time. She went to Google Earth, looked at it, and literally walked through the Grand Canyon on Google Earth.

SPEAKER_01 46:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:29

I said, I I thought you meant like Well, and that's good enough. Going to it.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

That's good enough.

SPEAKER_03 46:34

Right. And that's that's what I'm getting at. Like she was super comfortable with that.

SPEAKER_02 46:38

Because the education that we receive now teaches us. That's all you need. That's all you need. You don't need more. Yeah, I want to be there. I want to spell it. I want to smell it. I want to experience it. The system benefits by convincing you that what it has to offer is good enough.

SPEAKER_00 46:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:54

And the longer that the system can convince you that what I have right here is good enough, the better it does, the more it performs, the more usage and hours it's.

SPEAKER_03 47:02

We're just one giant hack away from meltdown.

SPEAKER_02 47:05

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:07

That's a different topic, different day, Lar.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

Yeah, Morel, it's it's been really nice to just have this conversation with you today. Um just some really cool tips and things that you know you've really shared with me, and I really feel like I've I've learned a lot. Um if you could just go ahead and share with our audience, you know, how they can get in contact with you, you know, any last tips or anything else you want to leave with them.

SPEAKER_03 47:29

So, Morel McCreary, Ramtech PC Solutions is my company. Uh, we're located right here in the heart of McDonough, 169 Decatur Road. Um, we help IT, we help companies prepare for their IT journey. Anything from tech support, compliance, cybersecurity, and AI, we can help you with that. RamTech, we make IT simple.

SPEAKER_01 47:50

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 47:51

All right, everybody. We just wrapped up an amazing episode here on Chasing Heritage. It's been a joy to be able to speak about AI and technology. If you've enjoyed what we've had here for you today, please like and subscribe. This is how we get the best content and the best interviewees here on the Chasing Heritage Podcast. Nice seeing you, and as always, we'll see you next time.