Too Late to Learn AI? Not If You Start Now.

It feels like we blinked, and AI became everyone’s assistant, teacher, and tool.

800 million people in the world have now used ChatGPT, and that number is growing by the day. The number is probably closer to a billion according to one of the recent podcasts I heard.

The use of artificial intelligence large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot is growing rapidly.

This makes LLMs one of the fastest adopted technologies in history.

Speaking at Sequoia Capital's AI Ascent event, Altman shared his observations:

"Older people use ChatGPT as a Google replacement. Maybe people in their 20s and 30s use it like a life advisor. And then, people in college use it as an operating system."

Its almost like how I signed up for my first email domain when the internet was becoming popular and accessible, and it took my parents a while before they became familiar with the internet.

Except AI adoption is going much much faster. New updates are dropping almost weekly - just last month, Google and OpenAI both released major AI tools.

Even though I have a background in computer science and data management systems, by the end of last year, the only part of AI I was using was chatGPT.

It made me think, am I too late in joining the AI trend?

Earlier this year I realized things were moving rapidly, and businesses were significantly investing in AI. Getting upskilled in AI wasn’t an option anymore. For the first time in years, I found myself wondering if I was falling behind. That fear, not of AI, but of irrelevance - pushed me to dive back in.

Essentially people are doing two things 1) building new AI products or 2) improving productivity at their organization by leveraging AI.

This motivated me to come up with my own study plan. And 2 weeks ago marked the completion of my AI crash course.

The reason I took this class was that I truly believe AI is changing the playing field. And it isn’t an option to sit on the sidelines.

I am not looking for a new AI job, neither am I worried about it taking over my work.

It has a long way to go before it can replicate my exact experience, knowledge, style, empathy and impact that I make on others.

But I did realize that we are at an inflection point, that AI first will become a way of thinking, and doing everything. We will have some element of AI infused in all things digital.

I am glad I took this crash course, as it touched on all AI topics in small doses. It covered Neural Networks, Machine Learning, history that has led us to this point, LLMs, RAG, AI ethics and prototyping.

As a function of taking the class, I had to make time for focused reading.

In my career, the skills that mattered most to me were making sense of data, building the right technology products, learning the skills of leading teams, and customer interaction. I know those skills are still valuable, and I needed to add AI to that stack.

I won’t be building LLMs or tweaking RAG models anytime soon, but I now understand the industries AI will transform, and the roles it may soon replace.

Hopefully as the optimists put it, it will also create a new set of jobs.

The class expanded my awareness of AI tools, experts, and real-world use cases.
I’ve been following Allie Miller, Lenny’s Podcast, Akash’s podcast, and lastly watching “How I AI” by Claire Vo each week.

I’ve also been experimenting with lovable and replit, building my first app through what is referred to it as vibe-coding and vibe-debugging.

It’s messy but exciting.
Each tool has its quirks. And yes, they still hallucinate. A lot.

I’ve also joined a community of women building AI projects. There’s no fun in learning about something, and not using it.

To my surprise some people are resisting the use of AI by thinking you have to have technical knowledge. A few have even said they are too busy with their current jobs to spend time on this.

I find it ironic, given how quickly these tools are being developed to replace knowledge workers.

This class didn’t make me an AI expert, but it gave me the language to join the conversation, whether that’s understanding the challenges businesses face or thinking about how AI will affect me and society as a whole.

I share this from the perspective that whether we like it or not, the genie is out of the bottle. And that means at some point all of us will need to leverage AI to do our work, unless you’re a plumber. Trade school jobs are looking really good right now.

I am in awe of what is getting built and am glad to be living in a time that we are experiencing such advancement in technology. But I am also worried about it’s overall impact. It has already started replacing call center agents, and entry level jobs.

In his latest blog, Sam Altman writes

“2025 has seen the arrival of agents that can do real cognitive work; writing computer code will never be the same.

2026 will likely see the arrival of systems that can figure out novel insights.

2027 may see the arrival of robots that can do tasks in the real world.”

I’m still in the thick of my career, which means I can’t afford to tune out. So instead of fearing change, I chose to become a student again. Not to become an AI expert, but to stay sharp, relevant, and adaptable in a fast-moving world.

You don’t need to know everything. You just need to be willing to learn. The tools are here. The time is now.

What’s your plan to stay ahead in the age of AI?

What AI skills are you learning?

What are the latest AI tools you used last week?

Hi, it’s Dipti , and I’m a leadership coach. Each week, I write about a personal development story, leadership, career growth, or navigating change as an ambitious professional.

P.S. If you’re concerned about your career in the AI Era connect with me.