disclaimer; AI is used for blog post images only, never the words... the words are all written by me personally, for better or worse.

Recently, while out on a dinner date, I was asked a longstanding question: "What does Dustan want?"

I rarely offer a simple, or serious, answer—maybe something like "peace, love, and happiness" .

I do know, as I age, I increasingly want few things, and more experiences, although reality dictates that many experiences require certain 'things' to truly enjoy them.

Skiing without skis... not a thing!

Hiking without gear... maybe if you’re Wim Hof!

For most of us, gear matters. IE The right footwear for the event—whether Louboutins, North Face, or Salomon.

Or the right jacket—whether a blazer, puff, or Gore-Tex shell—makes a difference in how we experience our experiences.

Keeping this blog post, and the answer to the above question, light-hearted, I’m going to focus on a recent purchase. Specifically, a "thing" to transport myself and my gear to places where I can have experiences.

The decision: to go from a gas truck to an electric one.

“What (truck) does Dustan want?”—this question feels more my kinda jam.

There are several factors to consider:

Ever-rising fuel costs.

The fact that I drive a gnarly highway prone to head-on collisions—and thus bigger is better, and electric means heavy. And heavy is good when things go bad.

Also, the question of trade-in value.

And then future depreciation—will it hold value like a truck-truck or depreciate like a PC?

To address these variables, I consulted trusted car guys, a banker, an accountant, my parents, and some smart friends.

Then I recalled the question (and my actual answer) posed over that dinner: "What does Dustan want?"

My response?

"Ask the algorithm"

aka "ask Bezos"

I can be honest—Amazon probably (certainly) knows more about me and what I am going to do next than I do, more than my parents, kids, or closest friends & confidants know.

So, to sort out the truck plan; I asked ChatGPT-4 a detailed question about the merits and pitfalls of trading in my current truck for an electric one. I provided all the details, the year, make, model, mileage, and my plans for future use.

ChatGPT-4 instantly generated a seven-point answer, complete with a well-written conclusion. The advice was as high quality as that received from everyone else combined. And it really was a mix of various points that individuals made, over a period of several hours of conversation spread over a couple weeks.

So ya...

The algorithm knows.

The final ChatGPT-4 sentence was: “Ultimately, it comes down to your priorities—whether the environmental and technological benefits outweigh the financial investment for you at this time.”

In other words, it might feel good to the environmentally conscious, it might feel good to the tech enthusiasts, and it will absolutely feel great launching off the line with the nine-zillion foot-pounds of torque.

But the real question being posed here is: Can I afford it?

And when I asked ChatGPT-4 exactly that question, those four specific words, the algorithm gave as high quality of an answer as the combination of genuine friends, my current CFA, a CFP, and my Mom (with her years of accounting experience).

The algorithm knows.

So, are you leveraging ChatGPT-4?

Few of us are.

If not why not?

And hey, don't answer that question yourself, feed this very question into ChatGPT; 'Why am I not using AI more often to assist me with decisions on a daily basis?'

The answer will be more accurate than you may think.
And that answer should make you think.

So no, ChatGPT-4 is not writing my Blog posts, but it is assisting me with various life decisions as well as a team of professionals mixed with a team of friends and family who know me.

The A.I. is a tool, and to ignore it is foolish... at least that's what A.I. told me to think, er say.

DW