AI isn’t optional anymore

Just last year, I had an IT pro on my team with over 20 years of experience. Smart guy. Talented. But when it came to AI, he dug in his heels. “It’s a fad,” he told me. “In two years, people will go back to Google and search the web. They won’t trust AI.” 

Yeah, right after fax machines and Blockbuster stage their glorious return.

He couldn’t see the writing on the wall. And in tech, or any industry, that’s the kiss of death. 

You have to be able to innovate. To adapt. To grow with change, not fight it. That mindset clash is exactly why he’s no longer with the company. 

AI isn’t just the future. It’s now. Here’s the best part: You don’t need a computer science degree to get going. Anyone can learn the basics. And yes, even you, with your 37 open tabs and a healthy fear of “technical stuff.”

There are free, powerful tools and courses that anyone can tap into. I’ll show you where to begin.

🤖 Why you should care about AI

According to McKinsey, at least 80% of businesses will use AI by 2030. 

Even if you’re not a techie, learning how AI works will make you more valuable in your job, help you think more critically about the tech you use, and might even spark a career pivot.

🎓 Try these totally free AI courses

As you’re looking through these classes, you’ll see they’re free, but some offer optional certifications you can buy. Should you spend the money? 

Here’s my take: Check out job postings in the field you’re interested in. If you see that certification popping up under the “qualifications” section, it might be worth it. Otherwise, just enjoy the free learning!

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Don’t miss ‘Amazon Pet Day’

🐱 Today’s your last chance to fetch more savings.

  • Walk with a no-pull harness (11% off) that won’t choke your pup.
  • Muddy paws? This washable doormat (28% off) catches all that dirt.
  • Snag a pet door (22% off) with three flaps to lock the weather outside.
  • This smart fountain (43% off) tracks if your kitty is drinking enough water.
  • Clean your furball with a vacuum (20% off) that comes with seven tools.
  • And a pet bed (5% off) shaped like ramen. Weird? Yep. Comfy? Totally.

🐾 More pawsome picks: That’s just a taste. Hit this link for more Amazon pet steals your furry friend will bark (or purr) for.

Web traffic is tanking — May 10th, Hour 3

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If your site traffic just dropped 40%, Google’s new AI Overviews could be the reason. Plus, the “Hawk Tuah” girl tries a rebrand and why free AI tools aren’t what they seem. And here’s a tip: never use your voiceprint at the bank. 

💼 Job seeker paranoia is real: New AI tools make it easier than ever for recruiters who are just scammers to look legit on LinkedIn and video interviews. Spot the fakes: Verify the company, check their official site for the position and watch for emails with odd time zones (paywall link).

22%

That’s how much of its workforce Chegg is laying off because of AI. Students are skipping the homework-help site and heading straight to tools like ChatGPT. With traffic and subscriptions tanking, cutting costs will save up to $110 million by 2026. Study guides couldn’t prep them for this.

Déjà vu is over: Posting one at a time on social media eats up your time. Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite and Later make it easy to schedule posts for your biz with just a few clicks. Try out the free trials to see which option you like best. Work smarter, not scroll harder.

Snip n’ snatched

👩‍⚕️ I’ve got some small tools that can do big things for your body.

  • Massage away your pain with a vibrating foam roller (22% off).
  • A smart tape measure (14% off) gives you accurate body specs.
  • Fever? This thermometer (11% off) checks your temp in seconds.
  • Tame your nose and facial hair with a trimmer (11% off) for women.
  • Can’t hear? You might want an earwax removal tool (27% off).

💙 Keep your cool: Hot and cold gel packs (36% off) work way better than that old bag of frozen peas.

📝 Sneaky students: College kids are turning in papers with typos … on purpose. This helps fool AI detectors after using chatbots to write essays. Some even tell bots to write like a “dumb” freshman or run their work through multiple tools to hide the AI fingerprints. Clever? Yep. Smart? Not so much.

Shelf-absorbed

🛁 You’re one click away from bathing like royalty.

🛍️ It’s not too late to shop my Mother’s Day Ultimate Gift List. Order now, so it arrives on time.

🎬 Insta edits drops: Meta just launched Edits, a new free video editor app to compete with TikTok’s CapCut. It includes AI tools like “Cutouts” and “Animate,” and exports without a vibe-killing watermark. Finally, an easier way to spend three hours editing a video that gets 11 likes and a passive-aggressive DM from your aunt.

🗣️ YouTube wants to dub every video: AI tools will soon translate any video into any language (paywall link). It’ll use the creator’s own voice and sync their lips to match. The AI behind this is trained on current videos … and you agreed to it years ago. If you’re a creator, congrats, you’re multilingual now.

Can’t focus lately? It might be brain rot

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Endless scrolling wrecks your attention span. There’s a fix, but you might not like it.

AI quietly raises your rent — April 12th, Hour 4

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Paying more in rent? Landlords are using AI tools to jack up prices. Also, why I’m skipping Airbnb (and maybe you should too). Plus, in-store tracking tech, gunshot-detecting AI, and a weird stat about men and voice assistants.

🤯 Not tech, but super interesting: Researchers found 22,000-year-old vehicle tracks at White Sands National Park. Yes, you read that right, 22,000 years ago. They believe it’s from a travois — a sled made with long sticks and a basket. That’s huge, since we thought transport tools only dated back to 4,000 BC.

Refresh your routine

😌 You made it to Friday. It’s time to unwind and pamper yourself.

  • Shower and scroll with a phone holder (11% off) that keeps it safe and dry.
  • Brighten your bathroom with an extra-soft rug (34% off) in 27 fun colors.
  • On the go? Pack a rechargeable travel mirror (14% off) to look your best.
  • These jade tools (50% off) reduce puffiness and reveal your natural glow.
  • Get every last drop out of your bottles with an emptying kit ($17).

🧼 Number two: Grab a 12-pack of automatic toilet bowl cleaners (28% off) that do all the hard work for you.

94% to 100%

That’s the success rate for robot-assisted surgeries. Doctors often use 3D glasses and chopstick-like hand tools, which the robot mimics using tiny instruments. The tech filters out hand tremors and makes less invasive cuts, meaning patients heal faster with fewer complications. Pretty amazing. If R2-D2 tells me to count backward, I’m trusting the process.

🧠 AI is changing radiology: Over 75% of AI software approved by the FDA for medical use is built for radiology. These tools scan hundreds of images and spot things like cancer, strokes and pneumonia (paywall link). Yep, that means doctors can catch urgent cases faster and treat patients sooner. They just have to watch out for the false reports, of course. 

How to make AI-generated pics look good

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ChatGPT-4o’s new image tools turn your photos into eye-popping digital art. Here’s how to get the best results, fast.

😓 To-do list stress? Goblin.tools uses AI to estimate how long tasks take and breaks them into easy steps. Type in your to-do (like spring-cleaning the house) and hit Add (+). Rate how detailed you want the steps by clicking the 🌶 icon. Yup, it’s free.

Microsoft Copilot’s getting smarter: Better late than never, I suppose. Look for two new deep reasoning agents in April. Researcher can dig through multiple sources and pull insights from third-party tools like Salesforce, while Analyst can turn messy data into clean spreadsheets.