Open LinkedIn right now, and it feels like a firehose of information. New tools, new models, new agents, new frameworks. It seems like AI is moving at breakneck speed, and if you blink, youโre already behind.
Iโll be honest: sometimes it feels impossible to catch up, let alone “master” it all.
But then I remembered a quote by E.L. Doctorow (originally about writing, but perfect for the AI era):
“Itโs like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
You don’t need a map of the entire territory. You don’t need to understand every layer of the neural net or every new tool released this morning.
Stop trying to master everything. Start by mastering something.
You just need to see as far as your headlights:
Learn one new prompt technique today.
Test one new tool this week.
Read one paper that interests you.
You can navigate the entire AI revolution just by focusing on the few meters of road right in front of you. Just keep driving.
What is the “one thing” you are focusing on learning this week?
We are rapidly hitting the natural ceiling of the “chatbot era.”
For the last three years, the dominant AI strategy has been refining human-to-machine conversation. Weโve built better models and smoother interfaces, essentially trying to make software “talk” like a human. We have automated the retrieval and summarization of information.
But as we look toward 2026, simply making AI talk better won’t generate competitive advantage. To understand the necessary strategic pivot, consider this insight from Paulo Coelho:
For centuries, humans failed to fly because we were obsessed with flapping wings. We thought flight meant mimicking nature. We only succeeded when we stopped imitating birds and built fixed wings and enginesโmechanisms that looked different but achieved the outcome of flight far more effectively.
Right now, many enterprises are still flapping their wings.
We are forcing complex business processes into chat interfaces. While useful for triage, the chat box is a bottleneck for true cognitive work. It mimics human interaction, rather than leveraging machine speed and scale.
If the current phase is imitation, 2026 is about flight. The strategic advantage will shift from Conversational Bots to Autonomous AI Agents.
The difference is the move from imitation to agency:
๐น ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ๐๐จ๐ญ tells you the steps required to fix a supply chain disruption. It chats with you about the problem.
๐น ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ detects the delay, re-routes the shipment, updates the ERP, and simply asks for your final sign-off.
The future isn’t a better chat interface; it is cognitive orchestration.
Christmas is around the corner and itโs about time to create my 2026 reading list.
I used to rely on the “Customers who bought this also bought that” feature. While efficient, it has a significant downside: homogenization.
Algorithms tend to feed us more of what we already know. If we all rely on the same suggestion engine, we end up reading the same books and thinking the same thoughts.
Thatโs not discovery; thatโs reinforcement.
To find truly fresh ideas, I go offline. Before I download anything to my Kindle, I tour physical bookstores – specifically the Translated Books section.
The Logic:
If a local publisher is willing to acquire rights, pay for translation, and print physical copies, that book has passed a rigorous vetting process. It implies the content is valuable enough to justify significant financial risk outside its home market.
I browse the shelves to find these gems, then head home and buy the original English versions for my eReader.
Itโs a powerful strategy that hasn’t failed me yet. How do you prepare your reading list?
They say Hong Kong people walk fast, talk fast, and act fast. Weโve all seen the taxi drivers with a dashboard full of mobile phones, juggling orders in real-time. To the untrained eye, this intensity can sometimes be mistaken for impatience, mindlessness, or even rudeness.
But if you look closer, youโll see something different.
You see a city running on an incredibly efficient engine. That rapid pace isn’t about rushing; it’s about a collective drive not to waste a single second. It is a refusal to miss a beat or forego an opportunity.
To me, this is the true spirit of Hong Kong, Asiaโs World City: The ability to mobilize, adapt, and get the job done – in no time at all.
Hereโs to the efficiency that keeps this city moving forward. ๐ฅ
In today’s fast-paced world, the conversation around artificial intelligence often centers on the idea of displacement. However, that perspective misses a crucial point. AI isn’t here to replace us; it’s here to amplify us.
Think of it as a powerful new tool in our toolbox. Just as the invention of the calculator allowed us to perform complex math faster and more accurately, AI tools enable us to be more productive, creative, and strategic. They can handle the repetitive, data-heavy tasks, freeing up our time and energy to focus on what humans do best: critical thinking, innovation, and building relationships.
The real key to success in this new era isn’t a battle of human versus machine. Instead, it’s about learning how to work with AI. We must all become proficient in understanding its capabilities and limitations, discerning when and how to use it, and knowing how to evaluate the quality of its output. The ability to use AI as a partner will be a fundamental skill, one that empowers us to do our jobs faster, smarter, and better than ever before.
AI is our ๐Amplified Intelligence ๐
What are your thoughts? How have you seen AI amplify human potential in your field?
M.Y. Lessons Learnt 