Do You Have a Teenager Handy?

“Is there a teenager around?”

I’ve heard that more times than I can count.

Sometimes it’s a television that suddenly refuses to cooperate. Sometimes it’s a smartphone, a streaming service, or a computer that seems to have developed a mind of its own. The assumption is that anyone under twenty-five can solve the problem in a matter of seconds.

Sometimes they can and sometimes they can’t. But the times they can leave a lasting impression.

But I’ve also noticed something else.

Many of my friends have simply stopped experimenting. No social media. No phone-based payment options. No Roomba. And certainly, no AI tools.

I think that’s unfortunate, because the people who stop trying are often the very people who could benefit the most. The goal isn’t to master every new gadget or app that comes along. The goal is to remain curious enough to discover the occasional tool that genuinely makes life a little easier. Every one of us has reached that point in life where we value convenience, simplicity, and saving time. Those happen to be things AI can often provide.

My friends aren’t unintelligent. Quite the opposite. They have built businesses, raised families, solved difficult problems, and adapted to enormous changes throughout their lives. Yet somewhere along the way many decided that new technology had become someone else’s world.

I understand why.

Just when we finally learn one system, it changes.

We learn Windows, and Windows changes.

We become comfortable with cable television, and suddenly there are Roku, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube TV, and half a dozen other streaming services.

The cables change.

The remote controlles multiply.

The menus change.

The passwords change.

The phones change.

The rules never seem to stop changing.

After enough of that, it’s easy to decide that the next new thing simply isn’t worth the effort.

While reading The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel recently, I came across an observation that has nothing to do with money but seems to explain much of what we’re experiencing.

“Everyone has their own unique experience with how the world works. And what you’ve experienced is more compelling than what you learned second hand.”

That struck me because it applies just as much to technology as it does to investing.

People who grew up with smartphones expect software to change every few months. They assume there will be another update next week. And they intuit how to adapt quickly.

Many of us grew up in a different world. We expected things to remain stable once we learned how to use them. If the television worked, it worked. If the owner’s manual explained something, that explanation was probably still correct next year.

Neither view is wrong.

They’re simply different experiences.

I’ve also noticed something interesting much closer to home.

My wife has started using Claude. Not because she wanted to become an expert in artificial intelligence. Not because someone told her AI was the future.

She uses it because it’s useful.

She still uses Google to find websites.

But when she has a question, wants to understand something, or needs help writing or organizing information, she often turns to Claude first. It has become another tool in her toolbox. In fact, she’s been encouraging several of her friends to give it a try.

That’s exactly how I think most of us should approach technology.

You don’t have to become an expert.

You don’t have to understand how the software works.

You only have to discover one or two things that genuinely make your life easier.

Most of us are never going to use artificial intelligence to write computer programs, solve advanced mathematics, or design new products. That’s what makes the headlines, but it isn’t what most of us need.

What we need is much simpler.

Can it explain a confusing Medicare letter?

Can it point out a scam email?

Can it summarize a long medical article?

Can it find issues with a contract document (reading the small print)?

Can it help plan a vacation?

Can it help write a letter or organize our thoughts?

Those are everyday problems.

And it turns out AI is remarkably good at helping with many of them.

The real value isn’t that artificial intelligence is clever. The real value is that it can remove a little frustration from our day as technology continues to become more complicated.

I also think there’s a bigger reason for becoming comfortable with these tools.

Today’s AI lives mostly on our computers, tablets, and phones.

Tomorrow it may be driving the car that takes us to lunch, helping us remain independent in our homes, reminding us about medications, or assisting with household chores. Intelligence is the same. Only the form changes.

Learning to ask good questions today may make those future technologies much less intimidating tomorrow.

Technology doesn’t have to become your hobby.

It doesn’t have to consume your life.

It simply has to earn its place by making something easier.

Maybe we don’t need a teenager every time a new technology appears.

Maybe we just need the confidence to try one useful thing at a time. We may discover that the hardest part isn’t learning the technology. It’s taking the first step.