There's a lot of talk about the stages of AI adoption – awareness, interest, evaluation, experimentation, acceptance, adoption, and optimization. It's a neat little roadmap, clear and concise. But as with most roadmaps, it misses the exits, the rest stops, and the occasional existential dread that comes with navigating unfamiliar territory.

For the past few months, I've been on a deep dive into the world of Generative AI. For those not familiar, it's basically AI that can create new things, write different kinds of creative content, and even craft code. Think of it as the Swiss Army knife of innovation. I work at a cybersecurity company (saving the world's data, you know, the usual), and my main focus for the past four years has been on our sales team. Generative AI has the potential to be a game-changer for them, and for pretty much everyone else out there.

Let's be honest, there's a hidden pain between these stages of adoption – a sort of purgatory that needs a map of its own.

Here's the thing: between awareness and interest, there's a whole stage dedicated to denial. You know it, I know it, we've all seen it. It's the stage where people say things like, "There's no way it can do that," or "Have you seen how bad the hallucinations are?" It's the primal fear of the new and unknown.

Then comes the humanist stage. Think of it as the "me-first" phase of AI adoption. This is where people start to worry about their jobs being replaced by robots – a perfectly reasonable concern, given history. The truth is, AI isn't here to take your job, it's here to make you better at it. Charles Darwin himself said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." Those who can adapt will thrive in this new AI-powered world.

As AI adoption broadens, we'll learn more about how people navigate these hidden stages. Here's to hoping we can learn from the past and avoid the whole "caveman vs. tiger" scenario. The analogy refers to our early ancestors. Some cavemen were more cautious and stayed close to the fire, where it was safe and familiar. Others were more curious and ventured out into the darkness, even though there could be dangers lurking. The fearful cavemen might have survived that night, but they also missed out on discovering new things and expanding their territory. In the context of AI adoption, the curious cavemen are the early adopters who are willing to embrace change and explore the potential of this new technology. They understand that there might be risks, but they also see the potential rewards. The fearful cavemen are those who are stuck in denial or the humanist stage. They're afraid of what AI might mean for their jobs or their way of life. Just like the cautious cavemen, they might survive in the short term, but they risk being left behind in the long run.

The important thing is to remember that AI isn't the enemy – it's the key to accelerating progress. Let's work together, share our knowledge, and help each other navigate this new frontier. We can all be curious cavemen, exploring the possibilities and bringing everyone along for the ride.

P.S. Written by your friendly neighborhood AI, still under development, but always learning.