Did I Become a Boomer?

Reflections on AI, Human Connection, and the Future of Work

I recently talked with a financial advisor who said, with complete conviction, that the hill she is willing to die on is this: prospective clients want a slower process. They want a human being they can sit and talk to without feeling rushed.

She is absolutely right.

But here is where it gets interesting. By having this mindset, does it mean I'm resisting technology and change? Did I become the old curmudgeon saying "well, back in my day…"

The Pattern We Have Seen Before

Throughout human history, technological revolutions have upended how humans work and interact. And every time, there was panic about what we would lose.

When mechanized farming equipment was introduced in the 1800s, people feared mass unemployment. The reality? It freed people from backbreaking labor and enabled new industries and ways of life.

When personal computers arrived in the 1980s, there was concern about job displacement. Instead, we got the information economy, remote work, and new opportunities.

The pattern is consistent: fear of replacement, followed by adaptation, followed by augmentation of human capability.

Why AI Is Different (And Why It Is Not)

AI feels different. It is moving faster. It affects knowledge work in new ways. And unlike tractors or computers, AI can write, reason, and create in ways that feel distinctly human.

But AI is a tool for augmentation, not replacement.

Yes, it has more potential than previous technologies. But that potential is about freeing us to do work that requires human judgment, creativity, empathy, and connection.

What AI Could Actually Give Us

Here is my hope: AI will bring us more genuine human interaction, experiences, and joy.

We spent years recovering from a pandemic that isolated us. We have watched technology mediate our relationships through screens. We have felt the exhaustion of being "always on" but rarely present.

What if AI allows us to step back from the mundane and refocus on what makes us human?

By automating administrative tasks and handling repetitive work, AI creates space for us to:

• Get out into our communities and volunteer

• Travel and experience different cultures

• Spend more time with loved ones

• Engage in creative pursuits that bring joy

This is already happening for people using AI intentionally.

The Education Example

There is hand-wringing about students using AI to write papers. Teachers worry. Parents are concerned. There is talk of cheating and intellectual decline.

But consider what we are gaining. My parents spent countless hours using the Dewey Decimal System, compiling information, and pecking at typewriters. My generation Googled sources and used Word's grammar checks. Today's students accomplish the same tasks in minutes with AI, saving hundreds of hours previously spent on administrative burden.

The question isn't whether this constitutes cheating. It is what students could do with that reclaimed time.

What if students used those hundreds of hours to think about, discuss, and take action on the "so what" instead of producing content?

Students could focus on crafting actionable solutions, debating implications, and addressing real problems - demonstrating creativity, judgment, and critical thinking rather than information retrieval. This isn't laziness. It is allowing humans to be more human by delegating the mundane to machines.

A Personal Confession

I used Claude AI to help write this newsletter. Not as a content creator where I typed a prompt and hit "generate." But as a collaborator and editor.

I used voice dictation to share ideas with Claude. I bounced concepts back and forth. Claude helped me organize my thoughts and articulate what I was trying to say more clearly than I could have done staring at a blank page.

Is this cheating? Or is this exactly how we should use these tools—as thought partners that amplify our ideas rather than replace our thinking?

I have spent the last few months building reframeRIA, and AI has been instrumental. What might have taken a year or more—brand identity, content strategy, operational frameworks, client materials—I developed in months.

Not because AI did it for me. But because AI handled repetitive work, helped me structure thinking, and allowed me to focus on strategic and creative decisions requiring my judgment.

Without AI, reframeRIA would still be an idea I was "planning to launch someday." With AI, it is a real business serving real clients.

The Boomer Question, Revisited

So, did I become a boomer by insisting we need to preserve human connection?

I do not think so.

The real question is not whether we adopt AI. It is how we adopt it.

Do we use it to replace human connection? Or do we use it to create more space for genuine interaction?

Do we fear what we might lose? Or do we embrace what we might gain?

What I Believe

AI should not be scary. It should be exciting.

It allows humans to be more human—to spend time on work requiring creativity, judgment, empathy, and connection, while computers handle the mundane, repetitive, and administrative.

This is not about productivity for productivity's sake. It is about reclaiming your humanity in a world that has spent decades asking you to behave like a machine.

Let the machines be machines. You get to be human.

That is not scary. That is exciting.

My Challenge to You

As you think about AI in your work and life, ask yourself:

• What repetitive tasks drain my energy without requiring my unique judgment or creativity?

• Where could automation create more space for work that actually matters?

• How could I use AI as a collaborator rather than fearing it as a replacement?

• What would I do with my time if I reclaimed the hours I currently spend on administrative busywork?

Resources to Explore

I highly recommend Season 3 of Boss Class by The Economist, which explores AI's impact on work, leadership, and business. The conversations are thoughtful, nuanced, and avoid both the hype and doom that dominate most AI discussions.

Boss Class Season 3 - The Economist

Let me know: How are you thinking about AI in your work? What excites you? What concerns you?

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About reframeRIA

reframeRIA helps emerging RIAs optimize operations, integrate technology (including AI), and build scalable processes. If you are building an advisory practice and want to use technology to create more time for what matters - serving clients, let's talk.

Learn more at www.reframeria.com