I fancied myself a computer man.

In college, I applied to work phones at Creative Labs supporting Sound Blaster installs. I fancied myself a computer man. The application test said otherwise. I might have known how to use computers, but I sure as hell didn’t know computers the way I thought I did.

I felt that way for a bit last night. I went to a Kansas City AI Club meeting, and initially I felt like I was in the wrong room. I talked for a while with a guy from American Century, picking up enough fragments of how he’s using AI to feel like the sum should have added up to something I was missing. Standing there nodding, I felt like I didn’t know shit about AI.

Then the panel on enterprise AI started, and I found common ground with Eric Pfeiffer from VML. He talked about content creation, integrating VML’s client data — and the more esoteric brand story and the tacit knowledge that lives around it.

Partway through I noticed the panel wasn’t handing down answers — they were comparing notes. The room and the panel were in the same place. Nobody had this figured out. Some of us were just further along on different parts of it.

After the panel I tossed around the knowledge licensing idea I wrote about a few weeks back. Got some skeptical looks, as the idea deserves. The work world isn’t ready for that jelly. I picked up some new LinkedIn contacts, people I can nerd out with.

By the time I left, I didn’t feel like I was in the wrong room anymore. I’ll see you all next month.