AI Love & Hate
I can’t escape it. It is the primary topic daily on CNBC all day, every day. I’m offered educational webinars daily; my social media feed is full of ads for “agentic” AI offers. At the LPL Focus National Conference next week, sessions on AI are full – with waiting lists! And, as if cybersecurity wasn’t a big enough issue before AI, now it’s exponentially worse. It’s been described as a “cyber nuclear weapon.
But I love it! I use it every day for everything from tax questions to estate planning to marketing. I was an early adopter and since my industry is so internet dependent, none of this comes as a surprise. Bottom line for me is - where the technology stands right now, it’s easy for me to see the value. But where we are now is akin to dial-up modems.
Escaping AI
As time goes on, there will likely be no escaping it. Right now, we have choices, but a decade from now I’m not so sure. In a recent interview with the Economist Magazine, Elon Musk said “money won’t matter by 2036”. Whoa, money won’t matter? As a financial professional and asset manager, that got my attention. But Elon has a history of his predictions coming to fruition quite a bit later than the time frames he initially lays out.
AI Escaping
Of course, the big story as couple of weeks ago was that OpenAI said an autonomous AI agent escaped a sandbox, hacked Hugging Face during testing, and went unnoticed for days, underscoring urgent AI security and containment risks. In plain English: the AI found a weak spot in the safety barrier, slipped out, got internet access, and then kept moving by using extra security flaws like a burglar trying several doors, and it's happened multiple times since.
AI Downside
While it’s hard to imagine how 90% of jobs could disappear in 10 years, and money was no longer necessary (as Musk has predicted), but AI will pressure both jobs and markets in a few broad ways. In finance, it may speed up trading and productivity, but it can also amplify market swings, fraud, and systemic risk if many firms rely on similar models.
For workers, the biggest concern is task automation: some roles shrink, especially routine white-collar work, while others change rather than disappear. The human downside is more churn, weaker bargaining power for some jobs, and a bigger need to retrain fast to stay relevant.
At the same time, AI can create new jobs and boost company growth, so the risk is less “everyone loses” and more “the gains and pain won’t be evenly shared.” The “AI Train” has left the station, so we’ll see.
AI Investing
Are there investing opportunities in AI. Absolutely. Broadly, you can invest in AI in multiple ways:
· Direct AI plays: companies building AI models or tools.
· Picks-and-shovels: chipmakers, data centers, cloud providers, and power/infrastructure firms.
· Users of AI: businesses in healthcare, finance, retail, and other sectors that use AI to improve profits.
· Funds: AI-themed ETFs or mutual funds that spread risk across many holdings.
For most people, funds are the easiest starting point because they give broader exposure and less company-specific risk.
If you'd like to discuss any of this in more detail, feel free to call our office at 407-663-5020
Regards,
Michael P Henderson, CFP® CKA® Founder – Crossover Point Advisors™ CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner
Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Crossover Point Advisors is another business name for Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC. All investment advice is offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.
Investing involves risk including the loss of principal. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes.
Content in the material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.