The Metagame #015: The Future of AI

A bit of a break from game theory and psychology hacks.

Today, I want to talk about AI, the future of technology, and how it impacts humanity.

Here's what's in store for today:

• My journey into the world of AI

• The future of technology and what it means for us all

Read time: 5 minutes

It was 2015, my freshman year of college.

I was a bright-eyed (read: nervous) computer engineering major who barely knew my way around a code editor.

While my classmates bragged about their high school coding projects, I was worried about being left behind.

So I did what any ambitious undergrad would do: I spammed my professors’ inboxes. I fired off a bunch of emails to several professors I found on my College of Engineering’s faculty page, asking for advice on the best resources for beginners.

One email changed everything.

One of the professors, who happened to be the head of the computer architecture research lab, responded saying he was looking for undergraduates to join a research project.

Looking back, this was pretty lucky. But then again, I set myself up to get lucky (luck by motion).

Within a few weeks, I was thrown into the deep end, working with a graduate student building machine learning models to predict NFL game outcomes. My AI journey began with me learning Python by day and applying it to sports betting models by night.

Talk about trial by fire.

It was intimidating, exhilarating, and the best way for me to learn. We trained our models on historical data, trying to forecast outcomes based on point spreads and confidence intervals. If that sounds like a foreign language, don’t worry—it did to me back then, too.

Fast forward nearly a decade, and here I am, witnessing firsthand how far AI and machine learning have come. From those late nights coding in college, to projects involving machine learning for malware analysis, to building personal AI agents, to teaching about networks, cybersecurity, and AI at NYU, it’s been a wild ride.

But the most exciting part?

This is only just the beginning.

The Future Is Already Here

Just last week, I attended Morning Brew Inc.’s IT Brew conference—a showcase of what’s coming next in cybersecurity, AI, and the future of technology. The discussions were eye-opening, to say the least.

One theme that kept surfacing: data is the currency of the future.

Think about it. Nearly every detail of your life is logged online—your LinkedIn bio, your social media posts, those hundreds of “Sign up with Google” accounts. Your name, address, phone number, email address, and even your SSN all sit on some server somewhere, fingers crossed, behind layers of encryption.

But there’s a looming threat: quantum computing.

It’s not just a plot device for sci-fi thrillers anymore. This next-level tech is set to outpace current encryption standards, potentially exposing massive troves of personal data.

And AI is only speeding up the process.

We’re on the brink of a new era, and the engineers, researchers, and policymakers working to make AI safer are doing some of the most vital work of our time.

So, what am I doing in the meantime?

I’m an engineer. So naturally, I build, I learn, and I share what I learn. Lately, I’ve been helping a friend learn how to code, reminiscing about how I learned all those years ago—through hours of Googling, YouTube tutorials, and endless trial and error.

But things are different now.

Today, we have Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini that can assist you in brainstorming, writing, and debugging code—and every new iteration of these models pushes their abilities even further.

If you’re a Marvel nerd like me, it’s like having your own personal J.A.R.V.I.S.

And it’s not just LLMs. Tools like Midjourney and Dall•E can generate any image your heart desires. Tools like Runway and HeyGen can generate hyper-realistic videos. The line between digital fantasy and objective reality is quickly becoming a blur.

I’ve been spending a lot of my time reading about AI, playing with these tools, and trying to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s for writing, coding, or brainstorming, I’ve integrated AI into my workflow—and you should too.

A Word of Caution (and Opportunity)

Here’s the reality: your job isn’t going to be replaced by AI. It’s going to be replaced by someone who knows how to use AI.

We’re not talking about a distant future—this is happening right now.

Whether you’re an engineer, a doctor, a marketer, or an artist, learning how to leverage these tools can mean the difference between leading the charge or playing catch-up.

So, will you learn to use this technology, or will you let it use you?

Quote of the week

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, hit me up on LinkedIn or on 𝕏 at @sam_starkman, or feel free to reply to this email!

— Sam