from JPT Group | October 2025 | Vol. 18 No. 10
Too Much of a Good Thing
With all the hoopla surrounding AI and its ever-increasing employent in all forms of human endeavor, the truth is that AI is only the latest technological development in a long series of digital breakthroughs. Even now, AI’s successors are rearing their ugly(?) heads. Apparently Quantum AI and zero-click marketing are showing significant signs of life.
All of which leads one to wonder where will it all end? Or will it ever end? Visionaries are emerging with speculations that AI is moving in the direction of true creativity and original thought. Some claim that the day isn’t far off when AI will think for itself and not simply rely on scanning the massive amounts of data it’s been fed to date.
Remember when they used to say that “the sky’s the limit.” With all that’s emerged over the past few decades, it might appear that they were aiming too low. Not only is the sky limit, space might even be too confining. Once freed from the bottle, who’s to say where these technological genies will lead us and what unknown wizardry awaits coming generations.
Some theorists worry that the speed of technological development is outpacing the ability of humans to keep up with it. If the technology so exceeds the human ability to grasp and utilize it, what forms of devastation will that bring? Will our machines out-smart us? Will military advancements reach a point where we destroy ourselves? Will the chosen few who best understand technology’s capabilities and potential form a permanent ruling class that will subjugate the rest of humanity?
Or, will the iPhone89 enable us to conceive our own entertainment storylines and transfer them to Netflix in a single sitting? Or will it enable us to embed ourselves into reruns of Gilligan’s Island? With all these machines doing our thinking for us, will our brains atrophy to mere gobs of mush?
Of course, some say that, given the state of some segments of society, we’re already there. Mush, you huskies.
Your intent is good but you’re not Superman and there are no more phone booths to change in anyway.
— Alan Weiss, consultant, speaker and author
BUSINESS UPDATE
An regular ritual, Forbes recently released its annual list of the 400 richest Americans. Breaking with the ritual, they also examined how those exceptional few got their starts.
Jeff Bezos got his first job at a Miami McDonald’s when he was 16 years old. He spent his days cracking eggs, flipping burgers and scrubbing bathrooms. According to Forbes, Bezos is now worth more than $244 billion.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao also got his professional start at a McDonald’s in Canada.
Fast food chains seem to be a common path. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang started working at a Denny’s in Oregon. Swedish fintech billionaire Sebastian Siemiatkowski made it your way at a Burger King broiler station, eventually meeting his Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth across the assembly line.
But wait! There’s more. Like Bubba, Dan and Trudy Cathy of Chick-fil-A and Lynsi Snyder of In-And-Out, all of whom worked for their family-owned chains. Do you want that to go?
The Pipes are Calling
When we talk about the “pipes” we’re not talking plumbing. Although some people can’t stand them, bagpipes have a rich history and a devoted following in the music world.
Scotland’s National instrument, the earliest mention of bagpipes in Scotland dates back to 750 AD. Over the centuries (as early as 1000 BC) bagpipes have been played throughout the eastern hemisphere from northern Europe to southeast Asia with some evidence that they were played in ancient Egypt. Although more famous for his “fiddle,” the Roman emperor Nero also was rumored to have been a bagpipe player.
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. There are numerous designs and source material throughout the world, all of which vary from one culture to another. Historically bags were made from local animal skins. Today, however, there are bags made of synthetic materials; the most popular being Gore-Tex.
The world’s biggest producer of the instrument is Pakistan, where the industry was worth $6.8 million in 2010. If you’re interested, a set (or stand) of bagpipes can be purchased these days on Amazon at roughly $100 to $350.
Over the centuries, bagpipes have become more associated with war, replacing trumpets to inspire highlanders into battle. Partly because they tended to stand out, as many as 1,000 bagpipers were killed in World War I. Since the 1960s, bagpipes have also made appearances in other forms of music, including rock, metal, jazz, hip-hop, punk and classical music.
If you can’t wait until July 27 – Bagpipe Appreciation Day, the International Bagpipe Festival will be held March 6-8, 2026 in Belgium. A competing festival is held every two years in Strakonice, Czech Republic.
Sources: Wikipedia, bethroars.com and oversixty.com.au
“Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of a bagpipe.”
– anonymous
KEEPERS
Scientists recently announced several astrological “shifts” which will affect the astrological signs Virgo and Pisces. Having no rational understanding of such shifts, we’ll let them pass without notice or comment. Having said that…
According to iflscience.com, cross-quarter days are the days of the year that roughly mark the midway points between the solstices and equinoxes. As you might’ve guessed given the whole "quarter" thing, there are four such days throughout the year.
In modern times, cross-quarter days are considered to be around Groundhog Day (February 2), May Day (May 1), Lammas (August 1) – and of course, Halloween (October 31). The last falls between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, which happen in September and December, respectively. One observer noted, “The approximate dates we use today reflect half-remembered astronomical traditions that are older than our familiar calendars.”
Trick or treat.
You’re in good hands. With an average annual premium of ₤120 pounds per year, more than 30,000 insurance policies have been written for women in the UK protecting them from “alien impregnation.”
— QI
I see you. LinkedIn posts with video get five times more engagement than text-only posts.
Take our word for it. Significantly, 53 percent of consumers outright distrust paid endorsements.
— Hubspot
Getting the word out. The Energy Department is telling employees to stop using the words “climate change,” “green” and “sustainable.”
— NPR
Who’s counting? Dwarfed by Tokyo’s current 37 million, the first city to reach one million inhabitants was Rome in 133 BC.
— interestingfacts.com
Google it. AI searches have begun to exceed Google searches.
— Wix
Screeeech. Bong. Bong. AOL has discontinued its dial-up service, as well as associated software “optimized for older operating systems.”
— Associated Press
Banned in Boston? Stephen King novels were the most banned books in U.S. schools in 2024.
— PEN America
Fill up yer cup? Cheaper and decaffeinated with less environmental impact, the Belgians are developing a substitute for coffee made from peas.
— news.sky.com
Hashtag, really? The pound key (#) on modern keyboards is called an octothorpe.
— greatfacts.com
The Month of October
Month of the Month
With Halloween looming over the horizon, is it any wonder that October is Bat Appreciation Month and Black Cat Appreciation Month? Then again, it’s also Croctober Month. Really? Ah, did you know that it’s the “Month of Free Thought.” Though it sounds fishy, October is National Pescatarian Month.
Today – October 15 – is Imagine A Day Without Water which would make it extremely difficult to celebrate Global Handwashing Day (also today.)
Question of the Month
Who is the richest man in the history of the world?
Despite your efforts, the right answer won’t earn you a dime.
Quote of the Month
"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else."
— John Burroughs, American naturalist and nature essayist
Get a Headstart
If you have ever thought about including a newsletter in your marketing communications toolkit, before you begin, download our free digital booklet – Getting Started with Your Newsletter – to get some basic questions answered as well as a little inspiration to nudge you forward. Be sure to check out “Something Special” at the end. Download your copy.
A Gridiron MBA?
Maybe that’s not possible, but there is much you can learn about business from football in the book, Hard Hitting Lessons. The subtitle says it all, “Some not-so-obvious business lessons learned from playing football.”
Get your copy here!
