My father’s NYC Taxi Medallion…and the fight against AI.

In the summer of 1989, my family lied to me and said that we were going on vacation to the United States. I, as a naïve, bright-eyed fool of a boy thought it was going to be an incredible adventure. My emotions changed pretty significantly when, in September, they informed me that we’re actually going to be living in the United States full-time.

This isn’t a story about that. (DM me about that one)

This is about how that same summer, my father sold our properties in Poland, and along with the entire family’s savings purchased a New York City Taxi Medallion (Shout out to 3A34!). For the next decade, he worked his regular full-time job, drove the Taxi another 30 or so hours a week (because…immigrants. IYKYK), and leased out the medallion to other drivers when he wasn’t driving. He was an entrepreneur, and his hard work (along with the medallion) helped build a life for us in the states.

By the mid-2000’s, he could have taken his foot off the pedal a bit. Both figuratively and literally, and we encouraged him to sell the medallion and pull back a bit. The price at that point was in the $400 - $500k’s and it would’ve represented a tremendous return on his investment. But something happened during those first 15 years of owning the business. The success of the business became something that defined him. He was the hard-working provider, and this was his vehicle of success.

As the aughts came to a close, and a new decade started, I started hearing rumblings in WIRED, TechCrunch, and Silicon Valley about a disruption in the space with a company called Uber. They were going to change the way that my father’s business would fundamentally function. On a monthly basis, I implored my father to sell his medallion. The prices at that point were hovering around $750k, and even upwards of $1 million. It was a no-brainer. There was a storm coming that would, at the very least, make things uneasy for medallion owners. At worst, it was going to obliterate them like a sledgehammer smashing through a porcelain vase.

But my father’s responses sounded like an angry man shaking his fists at the wind during a hurricane.

“No one in NYC will want to change the way they ride in taxis.”

“The government will introduce legislation to protect medallion owners.”

“It’s too expensive.”

“It’s not intuitive.”

But what he didn’t say is the one rule of life that never changes: “You cannot fight technology.”

It’s a tale as old as time. But let’s focus on just this century;

Napster killed the music industry (before Apple saved it.)

The internet killed the newspaper industry (while also revolutionizing everything else.)

Mobile phones killed cameras (while also revolutionizing everything else.)

Amazon killed bookstores (only not really.)

Streaming is killing cable.

…and on…and on…and on.

So we get to the latest bête noire…AI.

Despite the obvious opportunities that the technology presents, there are detractors already. While higher education has provided the most severe push-back, for purposes of my life (because I’m self-absorbed), we’re going to look at some of the comments by creatives in the ad world.

“It’s too easy.”

“It’s not real art.”

“It lacks humanity.”

“Not as good as the real thing.”

Shaking your fists at the wind.

To the writers and designers who are reluctant, or even combative towards AI, please look to my father’s story as a warning. Instead of sticking your head in the sand or sitting in a chair mumbling “This is fine. Everything is fine.”, immerse yourself in the technology. Or at least, dab your toes in it. Be introspective. Are you fighting the technology because the “creative you” is your identity? Have you pigeonholed yourself as a master of your craft and feel that the world should adapt to you? Understand that while there is a market for nostalgia, that market is far less than those who keep up with all the tools available to them.

If you’re a marketer, the challenge is no different than any other piece of technology. How can you utilize this asset in a unique, interesting way to grow your brand and surprise people? How can you use AI to move the needle?

If you’re a student, make sure that you’re not just practicing the techniques that have historically been needed for writers and designers, but engulf yourself in AI. You will be the leaders of this revolution.

PepsiCo head of design, Mauro Porcini recently posted: “This is a very interesting aspect of this new reality that I was discussing with my PepsiCo team recently. The designers of the (near) future won’t be just great users of pens and pencils, Photoshop and Illustrator, 3D softwares and 3D printers. They will need to learn how to write a prompt (= a detailed description of the design they are imagining) for the machine (AI) to interpret and elaborate. This requires a completely new set of skills, that will need to be complimentary to the existing ones, as the design generated by the machine will be just the starting point of a process that will still require the (magic) human touch…”

It's all coming faster than you think. We’ll be ready. Will you?