I’m in the Bahamas right now.
Not metaphorically. Actually there.
I wrote this before I left and scheduled it ahead of time.
Which means two things:
I’m trying (keyword: trying) not to check Slack
I’m probably on a waterslide or drinking a daiquiri
But let me tell you, in the days and weeks before I left, I kept hearing the same thing from founders, operators, execs.
The same anxiety-laden question, over and over:
“How the heck are you keeping up with AI?”
The honest answer is that I don’t know that I am.
Let me rephrase:
It’s that I’m trying to be really intentional about where I do.
No Mac Minis running in the closet.
No Perplexity command center (just yet).
But I am using Claude constantly to build and think.
Cowork is an absolute beast and Dispatch is unreal.
I am using Midjourney for images.
I am experimenting — just not everywhere, not all at once.
And that distinction matters more than people think.
A lot of founders I talk to feel like they’re behind.
Every week there’s something new. New model. New tool. New “this changes everything” post on Twitter or LinkedIn.
You miss a few days and it feels like you missed a year.
So the instinct is to lean in.
Read more. Try more tools. Tinker more. Maybe even hire an AI coach (which… honestly, sounds pretty dope).
But here’s something I realized early, and Casey Winters said it better than I could in his piece, The AI Signal to Noise Curve:
“AI doesn’t change every week. Capabilities change a few times a year. Everything else is noise.”
That line should resonate, because I do think it flips the whole problem.
The question isn’t:
“How do I keep up?”
It’s:
“Where should I actually be paying attention”?
The Real Challenge Isn’t AI, It’s Sitting in the Wrong Seat.
Most people are trying to sit everywhere on the curve at once.
They’re trying to be:
An innovator (playing with brand new tools)
An early adopter (actually using AI in their workflows)
And the early majority (waiting until things are easy and proven)
All at the same time.
But that’s impossible.
And it’s why everyone feels behind, 24/7.
Casey breaks this down really cleanly — you don’t pick one persona.
You pick where you sit depending on the thing.
That’s the part I think most people miss (I certainly did).
Casey’s curve of adoption
Here’s what that looks like in real life.
If AI is core to your product or your edge?
You probably need to be an innovator.
You’re going to deal with noise. You’re going to waste time. That’s the job.
But if you’re like most founders I work with?
You’re not building AI products.
You’re running a business.
Which means your job isn’t to understand every new tool.
Your job is to figure out:
Where does this actually make me faster, better, or cheaper?
And ignore the rest.
Where I Currently Sit
This is how I’ve been thinking about it:
There are a few areas where I’m actively experimenting.
Writing. Research. Slides. Workflow.
Product building and ideation.
That’s my “early adopter” zone.
And to be clear, twice in the last week I told my wife I cannot believe what Claude is capable of, it’s been such a profound tool, already.
But then, there’s a much bigger category of things I’m just… not touching.
Image generation rabbit holes. Video agents. Half the stuff blowing up on Twitter.
Not because it’s not cool, but just that the ROI isn’t there for me (yet).
So I wait.
Because if Casey’s right — and I think he is — most of that stuff will either:
Go away
Get abstracted
Become 10x easier later
And I can jump in then, without paying the early tax.
A Better Way to Play It
The real risk, IMO, is that you feel behind, so you tinker to feel productive, to be “on the edge”.
The more ambitious you are, the easier it is to fall into this false productivity trap.
If you’re feeling behind, try this:
Pick 2–3 areas where AI actually matters to your business.
Not where it’s interesting, but where it really matters.
Be an early adopter there.
Use the tools. Build the muscle. Figure out what actually works.
For everything else?
Give yourself permission to ignore it.
Casey ends his piece with this:
“Decide where you want to sit on the curve for each topic, and ignore the rest.”
That’s it.
That’s the whole game.
I’m gonna go back to not checking Slack now.
Or at least pretending not to.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
And until next time, thanks for reading.
Jordan
If you liked this blog post, you might enjoy this other one on why I buy high & then buy even higher.
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