🪬 HumanAI #016 – If You’re Between 30 and 70, Read This Before It’s Too Late

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In today’s:

• How the Silver Generation is using (and struggling with) AI

• Key insights from the SEF Forum 2025 on the future of AI in the Silver Economy

• A step-by-step hack to use AI for better networking

Oh, and before we start: the date is set!
I’m doing the FREE 90-minute “AI for Leaders” onboarding session exclusively for my subscribers next week:
• Americas: Tuesday, October 7 | 5:00–6:30 PM EDT
• APAC: Wednesday, October 8 | 8:00–9:30 AM AEDT

Think of it as a 90-minute shortcut to sharpen up, future-proof your skills, and finally make AI useful in your real work and life.
Live on Zoom.

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Networking isn’t new.

The first “networking event” in human history didn’t happen in a conference hall, it probably happened around a fire.

Humans have always gathered to connect.

From the Roman forums to the medieval Champagne fairs, we came together for one reason: connection.

To trade goods. To share stories. To strike alliances.

The first networking events weren’t about “content.”
They were about people.

And last week, at the SEF Forum 2025, a gathering that brings together leaders, entrepreneurs, and thinkers around the Silver Economy (the opportunities and challenges of aging populations), I was reminded that nothing has changed.

Why I Was There
I didn’t go just to sit in the audience.
I went to ask questions, record conversations, and capture insights to share here and on LinkedIn.

So I walked the hallways with a single question for participants:
“How do you see AI?”

The replies ranged from curiosity, to fear, to excitement, to outright overwhelm.
But there was one thing everyone agreed on: AI matters.

One of the first people I spoke with was Dr. Carlos Regazzoni, a respected physician and politician.

I asked him: “What would you say to the people who are hesitant, or even scared, about adopting AI?”

He didn’t hesitate:
“If you’re under 30… you’re screwed. You better start learning AI now, and learn it well.
If you’re over 70… do whatever you want, you probably won’t need it much.
But if you’re between 30 and 70… you have a problem. You must adapt very quickly to a world that is changing fast.
What you can contribute is the human part, relationships, human dignity, and keeping technology in service of community.
But you have to learn at least the basics of AI.”

That blunt honesty set the tone for the rest of my interviews.

🧠 HUMAN INSPIRATION: The Fire of Networking

Walking through the SEF Forum, I felt the same energy our ancestors must have felt in marketplaces centuries ago.

The panels were good. But the magic was in the hallways, over coffee, in chance encounters, in the laughter of strangers who suddenly clicked.

That’s the fire. The same fire that’s been burning since humans first gathered to connect.

And it was at that fire that I met Liliana, an attorney in her 70s.

While many of her peers admitted to being confused or hesitant, Liliana smiled and said:

“I use AI every single day. In my work and in my personal life.”

She uses Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and LuzIA for planning and business strategy.
She relies on AItor to review contracts and legal documents.
And at home? She plans trips, creates recipes tailored to her diet, and asks AI for tips to make daily life easier.

Even at her 70s, Liliana is empowered by AI.
Her story proves what Dr. Regazzoni said:
The future isn’t about age. It’s about mindset.

💬 5 INSIGHTS FROM THE SEF FORUM 2025

After dozens of conversations with Silver Leaders, here are the 5 recurring patterns I kept hearing about AI:

1. The Overwhelmed → “Every week there’s a new tool. I can’t keep up.”
   Overwhelmed by speed and by information overflow.
   Tip if you’re one of them: Stop chasing tools. Anchor on one core AI platform (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) and build habits there first. Incremental daily 1% adoption is the way.
   

2. The Fearful → “I don’t want to be replaced, but I also don’t want to look clueless.”
   Fear of irrelevance, fear of trying new things.
   Tip: Start small. Automate just one repetitive task (emails, summaries, reports) and let the confidence grow.
   

3. The Skeptics → “I’ve seen tech waves come and go. Is this one different?”
   Skepticism of hype.
   Tip: Test it yourself. Run one 15-minute experiment with AI each week and measure if it saves you time. And let me remind you: years ago, there were people skeptical of the internet, and decades before, skeptics of electricity…
   

4. The Seekers → “I don’t need 100 tools. I just need to know where to start.”
   Desire for clarity. They’re looking for the shortcut, the curated content.
   Tip: Follow the 80/20 rule. Learn the 3–4 use cases that deliver 80% of the benefit.
   Tip 2: Join one of my AI Labs!
   

5. The Empowered (the Lilianas) → “I use it daily, and it feels like a superpower.”
   They’re excited for the future and have seen and tested the potential of AI.
   Tip: Level up. Move from “playing with prompts” to redesigning entire workflows with AI as the first step.

The big takeaway:
Most leaders don’t need more AI tools.
They need guidance, filters, focus, and frameworks tto separate the noise from what truly matters.

That’s exactly why I built the AI LAB for Leaders.

It’s not about chasing every shiny tool, it’s about giving you the clarity and skills to walk away with confidence, not confusion.

⚡ AI REAL-LIFE USE: AI for Networking

Here’s a step-by-step playbook you can try at your very next event:

Step 1: Prepare
Copy the speaker list or attendee bios into ChatGPT. First, ask it to research each person in depth with a prompt like:
“Research [Name]. Summarize their background, recent work, and notable opinions or projects. Use the Deep Research tool for this task.”

Then follow up with:
“Summarize each person in one line and suggest 3 original conversation starters tailored to their background.”

Step 2: Break the ice
Walk in with those starters in your pocket. It feels personal, not generic, and instantly sets you apart.

Step 3: Capture notes
After each chat, jot down quick bullets.
Later, drop them into AI with a prompt like:
“Draft a warm follow-up message based on this conversation about [topic].”

Step 4: Follow up fast
Send those messages within 48 hours. That’s how you turn sparks into relationships.

PRO TIP:
Step 5: Nurture
Don’t let the connection die after the first email.
Create a simple contact database (a Google Sheet works fine).
Connect this database to ChatGPT or Gemini, and use AI to generate reminders like: “Every 6 weeks, suggest a relevant article, event, or idea I could share with [Name].”

Automate it with tools like Zapier, Make or even calendar reminders.

This way, AI doesn’t just help you meet people, it helps you stay memorable.

🚀 FOR THE BOLD ONES…

AI won’t replace the warmth of a handshake or the spark of a face-to-face conversation.
But it can prepare you to walk into any room sharper, more confident, and impossible to forget.

It won’t build the relationship for you.
But it will give you the time, the clarity, and the focus to invest in what actually matters: the human part.

Because whether it’s a Roman forum, a medieval fair, or a modern SEF conference, one truth has never changed: the fire is still human.

And the leaders who thrive won’t be the ones with the fanciest tools.

They’ll be the ones who know how to keep that fire alive, while using AI to carry it further than ever before.

If you’re a leader in the Silver Economy and want to stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling AI-empowered, that’s exactly why we built the AI LAB for Leaders.

Five sessions. Hands-on. Small group.
You leave not with theory, but with skills you’ll actually use.

Check it out here: thehumanaiproject.com

Before we go… here’s your:

Weekly HumanAI Challenge:
Pick one person you want to connect with.
Drop their LinkedIn/bio into ChatGPT (make sure you enable “Web Search” mode) and ask: “Summarize them in one line + give me 3 smart conversation starters.”
Then go use one… in a DM, email, or face-to-face.
Send me a quick reply sharing how it went.

The goal: make one real connection this week.

As always… Stay active, stay sharp.

Mencho
🪬

P.S.
To Dr. Regazzoni: thank you for the bluntness.
To Liliana: thank you for the inspiration.
And to everyone else: remember… the future doesn’t belong to the young or the old.
It belongs to the curious.

P.S.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the FREE 90-minute “AI for Leaders” onboarding session exclusively for my subscribers next week!!

P.S.S.S. Want more?!
Check my 1-Minute AI Hack of the week (well.. more like 2 minutes… but you get the concept)

This week: How to upload an image into Gemini/Nano Banana and make it better in seconds
👉 Click here to watch

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