The Real AI Revolution: Happening at the Breakfast Table, Not the Newsroom
Hello everyone, gather round, because we need to talk about the festering pit of paranoia that is the modern newsroom and how, believe it or not, the real forward scouts of the AI age aren’t tech journalists clutching at their press badges like sacred relics, but the waiters, bartenders and hospitality workers who figured out ChatGPT before some reporters stopped hyperventilating. Yes, you heard me – the breakfast crew at a Cleveland hotel might be more future-proof than the entire hall at the National Association of Black Journalists convention.
The Doom-and-Gloom Brigade
The writer attends the NABJ’s 50th anniversary expecting animated, IDEA-rich discussions about AI. Instead, the building echoes with the sound of mental barricades being built. Serious, hand-wringing conversations fixated on “protecting ourselves” from the evil robot menace, like we’re seconds away from being replaced by a laptop on a swivel chair. Newsflash, folks – you can’t copyright fear into obsolescence. It turns out this entire professional panic attack collapses after a short walk to the hotel restaurant.
Breakfast with the Early Adopters
Enter Kevin Knestrick, 49 years old, waiter, humble AI dabbler – the kind of man who uses ChatGPT not to launch a deepfake empire, but to type up a menu for the printer under a time crunch. It saved him loads of time, didn’t steal his soul, and didn’t unionise his silverware. He then ropes in his younger co-workers, Dawud Hamzah and Jamie Sargent, who are basically running AI speedruns in daily life while journalists upstairs are still stuck at the tutorial screen looking for the “Quit to Main Menu” option.
Hamzah: The Multi-Class Power User
Dawud isn’t just a bartender; he’s a youth motivational speaker and founder of H.Y.P.E. ChatGPT, for him, is Google’s faster, smarter cousin that doesn’t shove ad banners in his face. He uses it for PowerPoints, trip itineraries, health advice, and yes – even personalised workout plans for a back injury. And unlike some prescriptions, these AI-generated stretches didn’t come with a 14-page disclaimer or a price tag bigger than a PlayStation 5.
He gets a vegan-friendly birthday trip planned down to the last wholesome detail, and when his disc does a little Skyrim ragdoll reset, he asks his friendly text-based NPC for rehab tips. They work. Imagine that – using a tool for something practical without first issuing a manifesto on how it’s going to destroy humanity.
Sargent: AI in Education and Adventure
Jamie Sargent, ex-special ed teacher, now travel-planning extraordinaire, uses ChatGPT to magic up lesson plan templates, slicing an hour of soul-crushing admin into something manageable. No, it’s not cheating – unless using a calculator is criminal arithmetic now. He also uses it to map out multi-city Italian train-hopping tours with his brother. Without AI, the research alone might’ve had them lost somewhere between Florence and a shady Gelato shop that “only takes cash.”
Adapt or Respawn
Both Hamzah and Sargent acknowledge jobs will be lost. But instead of crying “Armageddon” they take the pragmatic route – evolve or become a historical footnote. Think of it as the ultimate patch notes drop: either learn the new mechanics or get steamrolled by the meta shift.
The Converts and the Cautious
Back to Kevin – his menu epiphany has him eyeing AI for more complex tasks, maybe even to dodge another “Bitcoin-missed-the-boat” moment. His manager, Curtis Helser, treats AI like any other tool: useful, dangerous if misused, but no substitute for shaking hands and schmoozing customers. The man gets it – some things need a human touch. Nobody’s asking a chatbot to pour a beer or kiss a baby… yet.
The AI Revolution Is Not Where You Think It Is
The journalist leaves Cleveland realising that while professional information gatekeepers are busy locking themselves in safe rooms, the actual revolution is happening quietly. It’s not dramatic. It’s not the Matrix prophecy. It’s a breakfast service, a travel itinerary, an email rewrite. The front lines of AI integration are being led by those who treat it as a screwdriver, not a sentient harbinger of doom.
Adapt, adopt, apply – or become the MySpace of your profession.
Final Diagnosis
As a doctor, I can tell you panic-induced AIphobia is a chronic condition fed by misinformation and untreated by actual experimentation. The best cure? Exposure therapy. Or, in layman’s terms: ask it a bloody question and see if it helps. Turns out AI isn’t coming for your job just yet… unless your job can be done faster, cheaper, and better by a glorified autocomplete engine. Then yes, maybe start polishing that resumé.
Now, was my overall impression good or bad? In this case, rather good – not because the technology is flawless, but because the people using it aren’t trapped in an endless game of “Fear the New Thing” on loop. Hospitality workers beat journalists in embracing practicality over paranoia. That’s both hilarious and telling.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Breakfast With ChatGPT: Three Workers, One Morning, A Different AI Story, https://gizmodo.com/breakfast-with-chatgpt-three-workers-one-morning-a-different-ai-story-2000641190
