Sometimes the most meaningful conversations happen in airport bars

Yesterday, while traveling home, I found myself sitting at an airport bar before my flight when the gentleman at the end of the bar struck up a conversation with everyone.

Before long, he had half the bar talking.

His name was Joe Vanderstelt, CFA, CPA, a data scientist on his way to a conference in San Francisco. He was asking people of different ages and backgrounds a simple set of questions:

• How old are you?
• Where do you go for simple answers?
• Where do you go for more complex ones?

As someone who has spent more than 20 years in technology, I joked that I was probably a biased sample.

For me, simple questions are often answered by whatever platform I'm already using. The question emerges in the moment, and the technology meets me where I am.

More complex questions are different. That's when I become intentional. I want facts, science, history, and multiple perspectives. I don't want technology validating what I already believe. I want it helping me think more critically.

What struck me most wasn't how different generations answered. It was how similar the underlying challenge really is.

Technology has always evolved.

Humans have always been capable of incredible good and incredible harm.

The printing press spread knowledge, but it also spread propaganda. The internet connected the world while creating new ways to spread misinformation.

Now AI is the latest chapter in a very old human story.

Not a story about technology.

A story about people.

Joe shared that part of his interest in this topic stems from a deeply personal experience involving violence and the influence of online information. It was a reminder that behind every algorithm, product, and platform are real people trying to navigate a complicated world.

What I appreciated most about Joe's approach is that before building answers, he's asking questions. Before shaping technology, he's trying to understand the people who will use it.

That's exactly what we need more of.

We need ethical leaders building these systems and users willing to think critically about how they engage with them.

By the end of the conversation, I wasn't thinking about AI.

I was thinking about humanity.

And honestly, it made me feel good knowing there are people like Joe asking these questions before they build the future.

Sometimes the most meaningful conversations happen with complete strangers at an airport bar.

Technology will continue to evolve.

Our responsibility is making sure our humanity evolves with it.