Think Smart: I just returned from Bowling Green, Kentucky where I delivered the keynote at the Kentucky Commodities Annual conference. Among the trends I discussed was artificial intelligence. No sooner had I ended my talk than I came across this informative article: AI for Better Crops.

Think Even Smarter: Artificial intelligence–especially ChatGPT and OpenAI–have rightfully been receiving a great deal of press. This interview with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is worth a read. Altman does an excellent job in the interview of trying to control the “hype” around artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, I found this quote of his quite provocative: “I would much rather have ChatGPT teach me something than go read a textbook.” Speaking of AI, this New York Times article outlines how some universities are combating the problem of students using ChatGPT is also illuminating. One of the tactics the school is considering is having students return to writing papers by longhand! (I love it when the future turns ironic–few people would have predicted that the future might see students return to pen and paper!)

Think Bigger : This upcoming week, I’ll travel to Las Vegas to deliver a talk to the national Carpenter’s Union. One of the trends I’ll discuss is 3D printing. To date, this article (entitled “Can 3D Printers Help Solve the Housing Crisis“) is among the most interesting and informative I’ve read on the topic of building houses with large-scale 3D printers. (The short answer to the question is yes, but it may not be quite as easy as the CEO of Icon–the Austin, TX-based manufacturer of 3D printed houses–suggests.)

Think Cheaper: Suffer from high cholesterol? Help could soon be on the way. On a larger front, gene editing (which is the technology that is now being used to treat high cholesterol) could soon treat a lot of other diseases. Better yet, it may be available to all of us.

Think Optimistically: Plastic in the ocean is a massive problem. Thankfully, innovative organizations such as The Ocean Cleanup are working to address the problem. This video is super cool and hints towards a better and clearer future.

Afterthought: “Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.“