If you feel overwhelmed by artificial intelligence, there are plenty of Midlanders who feel the same.
One was Derrick Clark, corporate accounts director at DEAN Services.
“I was looking for a network, a group that discussed AI,” he told the Reporter-Telegram in a phone interview.
Unable to find a group discussing the topics he was interested in, Clark posted on LinkedIn asking whether anyone wanted to start one. About 60 people responded. That led to the formation of the Permian AI Collaborative.
He said he was surprised by how many people reached out and how widespread interest was. Even the woman who cuts his hair attended a meeting to learn more about using AI.
The group holds monthly meetings to discuss specific AI-related topics, beginning with an introduction to AI. The most recent meeting covered AI security and protecting organizations in the age of AI.
“I’ve used AI the last couple of years and I even feel like I’m behind because it changes so fast,” Clark said.
Those interested in AI include people who embrace it and those who fear or distrust it but know they need to learn the technology.
“If you don’t learn it, you will become an obsolete employee,” he said.
“What I really appreciate is that Derrick saw a gap in his personal and professional knowledge and wanted to remedy it. Rather than simply filling that gap for himself, he invited the larger community to learn alongside him. His employer, DEAN Services, supports him in these efforts,” Jonna Smoot, West Texas area sales manager with Lanmark, told the Reporter-Telegram by email.
“These monthly Permian AI Collaborative meetings are helping bridge the knowledge gap many people have around AI, while also providing practical guidance, useful tools and cybersecurity recommendations that help people become more effective and responsible users of AI, both at work and at home,” she wrote.
Said Clark, “We focus on the practical applications of AI – how to use it to make your life better.”
AI can complete in 20 minutes a task that would take him two hours, he said. That extra 90 minutes or so is time he can spend with his children.
“I do believe AI won’t kill jobs. It will be like the internet removed some jobs but created more jobs. I think there will be a lot of jobs created with AI.”
He said he has monthly topics planned for the rest of the year but takes public feedback on what people want to learn as he develops future topics.
“The value is in education and networking. Networking is where the magic happens – people discussing how the use AI and throwing ideas back and forth,” he said.