In this edition, Joe shares:
Why every generation thinks the next one is weaker
What “acceleration anxiety” means
Why disruption makes us stronger
Joe here in Vermont, just wrapping up a trail run in the Green Mountains. Every step through these mountains reminds me that human bodies evolved to handle hard terrain, not smooth sidewalks, glowing screens. We definitely weren’t made for algorithms deciding what we should see, eat, and think.
Lately I’ve been hearing the same fear everywhere: AI is moving too fast, our kids are getting weaker, the world is becoming unrecognizable. That anxiety isn’t new, however. In 1910, people said cars and airplanes were ripping life apart, moving at an “unnatural” speed! In the late 1800s, Americans talked about “nervous collapse” from telegraphs, railroads, and factory machines (imagine them handling TikTok). Plato himself warned that writing would weaken memory and destroy wisdom. Every generation looks at new tools and says: this is the end of us. And yet, it seems every generation is wrong.
Humans adapt, and that’s our superpower.
Acceleration feels scary because our wiring evolved for scarcity and stability. When change comes - faster, louder, more complex - our first instinct is panic. You see it now in the AI debate with parents fearing their kids losing creativity, workers fearing jobs will vanish, athletes fearing the playing field will tilt. Sounds like the same script to me, with a new cast.
Take running. “Super shoes” are carbon-plated, foam-stacked running shoes that were supposedly going to “ruin” competition. Critics said new records wouldn’t compare when Eliud first put on the Alphafly. Yet what happened? They became the standard. Athletes have raced faster, rethought strategy, and shattered times. The bar moved higher, and the human drive to push against it only got stronger. That’s not freaking collapse; that’s evolution in real time.
“AI won’t replace you. A person using AI will.” – Everyone in Silicon Valley Right Now
Take art. When cameras first appeared, critics said painting was done. When Pixar launched the first fully animated feature film, traditionalists said it wasn’t “real cinema.” Today, photography and digital animation aren’t the end of creativity, instead they’re part of it. Punk rock, born as rebellion against polished corporate music, shows how every wave of disruption provokes a harder, rawer counterpunch. It’s the same now with AI: for every formulaic algorithm spitting out generic crap, there’s an artist bending the tool into something new. Dave Watson here at Spartan often says AI is a power tool; it doesn’t replace the craftsman, it sharpens them, making them faster, more precise, and more effective.
You Ask, Joe Answers
Q: “Joe, do you let your kids use AI tools for schoolwork?" — Friend of De Sena Family
A: "I tell them the same thing I tell our racers: the tool by itself won’t save you. If you’re weak, AI will just make you weaker. If you’re smart and disciplined, it will make you sharper. Use it to learn faster, not cut corners." — Joe
Thinkers have wrestled with this long before AI. Freud warned that modern life crushes our instincts until we burn out. Weber argued the opposite, that discipline takes those same instincts and turns them into strength and progress. I think they were both right. Technology can smother you, or sharpen you - it depends on whether you let it own you, or you be the boss.
Fear of disruption has always been part of the human condition, but weakness isn’t inevitable. AI can replace your efforts, or it can multiply them. The question is whether you can build grit faster than the world builds comfort. I’ll take the Hard Way every time.
Hurry up,
Joe
