Some users of artificial intelligence utilize the technology in a similar fashion as kids who first experienced calculators in classrooms. Instead of using the machine to work long division, it was a pocket-sized toy that kids could spell appropriate (and sometimes, inappropriate) words when held upside down.

There are right ways to utilize AI and there are wrong ways.

Steve Newman is the Director of Business and Community Development at ERC Broadband and a technologist who has spoken locally at the brAIn Hub events hosted by Mountain Area Workforce Development Board and he is the one who made the calculator reference when asked about the future of AI in businesses.

“We've been, as a community, watching AI for at least the last three years, which is pretty impressive,” Newman said. “What we're currently seeing is a lot more, what I'll call, inefficient use of AI to do what the internet seems to do, create memes, terrible images and terrible videos, and it is comical to see how the vast majority of people like to utilize the internet and AI, but I also think that probably was the same way when computers and even calculators first came out.”

AI can be used as a tool to ease the work day, as a way to automate mundane chores, and boost efficiency among employees. According to an online article by Florida International University’s Business School, AI can be used for market research, operational efficiency, and customer-employee relationship enhancement.

How to get there, though? This may be a worry for business owners. A quick search online showcases classes, webinars, seminars, and other avenues to learn how AI can be utilized in the business world.

Locally, there’s a way to learn more also: the previously mentioned brAIn Hub event. This regional summit is a spot to, according to last year’s flier, “learn from AI experts and practitioners on how AI can enhance your personal and professional life, and fuel economic resilience and growth.” The fourth annual event is set for June 4-5 at UNC Asheville’s Kimmel Arena and will mix hands-on workshops with speakers.

It will be a place where anyone needing a jumpstart into AI can learn how to integrate it into their work day and there’s a multitude of ways to do that.

“There is no one set way of using AI,” Newman said. “It can augment anybody's work at any point in time. I think of it as, it could be the little angel on the shoulder. It could be the little devil on the shoulder. You can ask it anything, and you can get insights on both sides, but it's still up to the human to make the appropriate decision, because it is completely fallible. It is not designed to be infallible. It's just designed to be very human friendly.”

For someone new to AI, who doesn’t know where to start, Newman’s quick advice is to use the technology inside your standard internet browser.

“Whatever your browser utility is, it now has built-in AI,” Newman said. “As you ask questions and you start doing your searches, you will start to get more complete, humanistic responses. A typical search engine, it's just going to vomit you a list, but the AI response is going to try to understand why you were asking that question, and give you an answer as if I were asking you directly a question. That humanity, or that human essence, really helps people build trust and start a conversation and that's what it's really trying to do, instead of giving you 10 million solutions. It's trying to assume what it thinks that you're going to look for and give you as close a response as possible.”

AI was a topic of the keynote address at the 2025 Annual Economic Outlook, put on by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, in December. Chris Lafakis, a director at Moody’s Analytics, spoke about how AI is one of the biggest factors the United States’ economy can continue to thrive in the new year as money continues to be poured into the technology.  

 A recent survey by McKinsey and Company stated that most of the organizations it surveyed are in the experimental or piloting phase of integrating AI in its businesses.

Getting past these phases, or simply using AI for the first time, could be difficult for business owners who might be nervous using this new technology.

“I think those people are probably going to be afraid to use any new utility, new tool,” Newman said. “I think early adopters, obviously, they got a head start on it, and they are literally more efficient in their work day. Or I should say they can be more efficient in their work day. Using AI can be just like surfing (the web) and there are black holes and rabbit holes that you can get stuck in and go down. But I think the early adopters and ones who have used it to help them with any sort of business process or work life balance process are becoming more and more efficient as humans.”

Mark Sternal, who is the Business Services Representative for Mountain Area Workforce Development Board, acknowledged that while some people are nervous about the new technology that AI isn’t going anywhere.

“One of the quotes that really sticks with me, that I’ve heard said different ways, is that AI is not going to replace your job, or AI is not going to replace you, but if you don't get in and start using AI, then you're going to get left behind,” Sternal said. “It's easy to be scared of it. It's new technology. It's easy to be concerned with the lack of guardrails, but the fact is, it's here. It's been here. It’s being used every single day, whether it's talking to your smart speaker or using your search engine. The government's using it. The private sector is using it. Everybody's using it. If you're afraid of it, and you're not going to get involved and get educated about it, then you're the one that's going to get left behind.”

 

For more information on the brAIn Hub event in June, check out the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board’s website: www.mountainareaworks.org