What was supposed to be a short, 20-minute chat about AI turned into a 90-minute engaging experience, with some of the best questions I’ve fielded on the topic so far. I had the pleasure of speaking at the Navy League of Ft. Lauderdale dinner last night, and while I thought I'd be giving a brief tech talk, the crowd had other plans. Let’s just say we took a deep dive into the wild waters of artificial intelligence, national defense, and the occasional “Skynet” reference.
First off, a big thank you to Frank Bell, Master Gunnery Sergeant Abiud Montes, and the Navy League for having me. They even gave me a plaque and a challenge coin, which—not to brag—I will proudly display in order to brag. (My HALO and PUBG awards are a little jealous.)
From Dinner to AI Starlord
So, there I was, setting the stage with a simple analogy: imagine you come home from work, flip on the TV, and—boom—breaking news says aliens are arriving in two years with tech so advanced we can't even comprehend it. What would you do? Pretty wild, right? Well, that was my way of easing into the conversation about AI and how it’s developing at a pace that feels almost... alien.
What I didn’t expect was how quickly the crowd engaged with the topic and started firing off questions. We were about 15 minutes in before the first hand shot up—questions about AI’s power consumption (yes, Microsoft is really firing up nuclear plants for AI), concerns about bias in healthcare, and, of course, the classic “Will AI take over the world?” Spoiler: probably not... yet.
AI, the Navy, and Everything In Between
We talked about how AI is already woven into our everyday lives (hello, Siri!) and how it’s rapidly changing the game in military operations. AI’s ability to process massive amounts of data in real-time could make all the difference in national security. One of the more interesting discussions we had was about AI-powered drones and how they could potentially assist with monitoring drug smuggling off the coast of Florida. AI doesn’t get tired, it doesn’t blink, and it can process data faster than we can imagine—making it a perfect fit for that kind of work.
I also threw in a few fun facts, like how AI has helped reduce the lithium used in electric car batteries by 70%. And yeah, we nerded out about machine learning, neural networks, and even got into how AI is being used to predict 500 million years of protein folding to help cure diseases. (I swear, I tried to keep it light!)
Ethics, Skynet, and the Future
Of course, no talk about AI would be complete without touching on the ethical side. We all know AI isn’t perfect—it’s as biased as the data it’s trained on, and it can confidently give you the wrong answer with a straight (digital) face. But the real kicker is how quickly this tech is moving. I mentioned that we’re in the "dial-up" era of AI—this is the worst it will ever be. And if it’s blowing our minds now, just wait a few years.
Naturally, someone had to ask about Skynet. (You knew it was coming.) I assured everyone that while AI is powerful, it’s not exactly ready to launch a full-scale takeover. We’re more in the “AI can help you organize your inbox” phase than the “AI will be your robotic overlord” phase.
Wrapping It Up (Eventually)
Before I knew it, 20 minutes had passed, then 40, then an hour… and, well, you get the idea. It wasn’t until someone jokingly asked if AI could help us find a faster way to wrap up the evening that I realized how deep into the conversation we had gone. But honestly, I could’ve kept going. The questions were sharp, the conversation was lively, and I had a blast talking with everyone.
So, to the Navy League of Ft. Lauderdale: thank you for the warm welcome, the fantastic conversation, and, of course, the plaque (it really ties the office together). If anyone wants to dig deeper into the AI topics we covered—or find out what happens when AI really does land on the White House lawn—you can check out the full presentation on my site: http://richwashburn.com/navy.
Here’s to AI, national defense, and keeping Skynet firmly in my stupid jokes… for now.
BTW. If you’re ever in need of a 90-minute deep dive on AI, national security, or how Tesla’s battery tech is changing the world—well, you know who to call! 😂
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