I spent last night going six generations deep into my genealogy. Not casually browsing—I mean really digging in, following every branch, documenting every name. That’s just how I do things. I don’t do moderation well. When I’m interested in something, I go all in.
Tonight? I cleaned my room. Set up a project that’s been sitting on my to-do list for weeks. Helped make dinner. Watched some regular TV with my wife. And now it’s 9 p.m., and I’m wondering what to do with the rest of my evening.
I could dive into Claude Code. Or finally explore Sora2’s image generation capabilities. Maybe check out NanoBanana. There’s always something new in the AI world—some update that Twitter’s buzzing about, some feature that “changes everything.”
But here’s what I realized: I don’t have to.
The Permission You Didn’t Know You Needed
This week alone, there were major model updates, breakthroughs in AI coding tools, and new image generation capabilities that people are raving about. And you know what? I haven’t touched most of them. Not because I’m lazy or behind—but because they’re not relevant to what I’m doing right now.
There’s this weird pressure in the AI space. Like if you’re not on the bleeding edge, you’re somehow missing out. Like every newsletter, every announcement, every Twitter thread is something you need to understand right now.
But here’s the thing: unless you’re a pretty advanced user or working directly in AI development, most updates don’t relate to your day-to-day. They just don’t.
I write a blog called Explore AI Together. You’d think I’d need to be on top of every single development, right? But I’ve learned something important: the best articles I write aren’t about chasing the latest news. They’re about exploring what genuinely interests me, what I find useful enough to reference later, or what I think might save someone else time.
My Current Relationship With AI News
I’m not completely disconnected. I have an ongoing task that gives me AI updates, and I’m signed up for Log AI—a newsletter by Awa K. Penn that I really like. There are a lot of good newsletters out there, it just happened to be one that I happened upon. He digests the news and puts it in a quick, readable format. It sits in my inbox until I’m ready for it. No pressure. No FOMO.
That’s the key: it’s there when I want it.
Some weeks, I’m deep in learning mode. Other weeks, like this one, I’m dealing with real life. I recently lost my dog, Max, and I’ve been giving myself permission to have slow, disconnected evenings. To read a book. To work on my website without the pressure of being “cutting-edge.” To just exist without constantly optimizing or learning something new.
And that’s okay.
What This Means for You
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the pace of AI development, here’s what I’d say:
You’re not falling behind. You’re just not chasing everything, and that’s smart. Most of the updates won’t matter to you anyway.
Focus on what brings you happiness in interacting with AI. Maybe that’s using ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas. Maybe it’s automating part of your job. Maybe it’s just having interesting conversations. Whatever it is, lean into that.
Keep an eye open for the things that help what you do. You don’t need to try every new tool. But when something catches your attention—something that actually solves a problem you have—dive in. That’s when you’ll learn the most.
As soon as you find something interesting, you’ll become an expert in that niche. And then you can share it with others. That’s the whole point of exploring AI together—not rushing to know everything, but learning what matters and passing it along.
A Side Note: Talk More, Type Less
Here’s something I realized while writing this: I used voice-to-text for my thoughts instead of typing them out. It felt more natural. More authentic. Less filtered.
If you’re trying to work with AI—whether that’s brainstorming, drafting, or just thinking out loud—try using the voice feature on ChatGPT or Claude. Talk into the void and know someone (or something) is listening. It’s a small shift, but it makes the experience feel less like work and more like a conversation.
Final Thought
Right now, I don’t have the energy to jump into something big and cutting-edge. And that’s fine. I’m giving myself permission to have a slow evening. To work on my blog. To do something productive and cathartic without the pressure of being on top of every AI announcement.
You can give yourself that permission too.
The AI world will keep moving. New models will launch. New features will drop. And they’ll still be there when you’re ready to explore them.
Until then? Do what brings you joy. Learn what’s useful. And stop stressing about falling behind.
You’re exactly where you need to be.