Topher Morrison

AI isn’t just making you dumb, it’s sucking your soul.

The last domino has fallen in the world of AI and safety.

Anthropic, the AI company who brags about being the only AI company with “soul” has caved under pressure from the Trump administration and will be releasing their guardrails to prevent losing their government contract.

But I’m not worried about them… I’m worried about us.

I read up to 120 books each year. If I start a book I don’t enjoy, I will still finish it, because it forces me to find the good and beneficial in something I would otherwise dismiss.

But last year, I started 4 books and stopped inside of the first few chapters. Why? Because they were AI created slop. No thought-leadership, just thoughtless AI generated text.

A good friend of mine made a post on social media last week about “being authentic.” The entire post was created by AI. It was the exact opposite of authenticity.

Just this week, I was asking someone I admire and respect for some personal advice. It wasn’t a big ask either. Maybe 20 minutes of her time. Her response was generated by ChatGPT.

It left me feeling like I was a part of the mundane in the all too popular AI pledge: “Automate the mundane, humanize the exceptional.”

We all know that if we stop using a muscle it will atrophy. And I’ve already seen trends in society where people are losing their ability to think for themselves.

They are turning to AI to make decisions that should require slow thinking, but instead, outsource their thoughts to AI (I’m guilty of doing this myself).

But that’s not the scariest part.

We aren’t just losing our ability to think critically, we are losing our soul, just like Anthropic. Maybe we aren’t doing it for money like they are (although some surely are), but we are likely all guilty of trying to increase our margins in some capacity. Maybe our margins are time, efficiency, speed, productivity...

But is it worth it? If we are becoming a world where we let AI do our thinking for us - a world where we let AI give advice to our friends, or serve as a proxy for our emotions, then this is a world I don’t want to live in.

I want real. I’m learning to loathe the artificial.

Who are the highest paid professional speakers?

The answer might surprise you. (Unless you’ve read my book!)

Actors.

They’re paid millions to talk professionally, from the script to press junkets around the globe.

Actors master one skill so-called “professional speakers” often avoid:

Memorization.

The best speakers in the world don’t hide behind notes and lecterns. They don’t read their “wisdom” off a screen like it’s karaoke.

They own the message. And here’s why that matters.

Every time you look away from the audience to consult your notes, you break connection.

Connection is currency. Once it’s disrupted, you lose eye contact, attention, momentum, and trust.

If you want to be paid like a pro, you have to speak like one.
That means doing the unglamorous work. Rehearsing. Refining.

Actors get paid millions because they can treat words like craft.
Most executives treat words like an afterthought.

You might get away with it in a conference room.
But you won’t get away with it on a big stage.

Stop reading and start owning the room.

My Valentine doesn’t care about flowers.

She cares about walks, treats, and being taken on every adventure.

She shows up every day, always says good morning, and there’s never any drama. Just loyalty and good energy.

Honestly, a pretty solid standard.

24 hours in London for KnightScale Partners with 🤝

Took a quick trip for an intimate lunch to support a group of founders actively building and scaling their businesses.

No agenda.
No presentations.

Just thoughtful conversations between founders who have the conversations to go with the scars of running a company.

That’s what KnightScale Partners is about. Speaking openly about decisions, trade-offs, and the realities behind growth and exits.

Where should we have our next KnightScale Partners networking event?

For those still asking: yes, the raccoons are real.

Definitely not AI 😅

Meet Calypso and Felon. Full-time, fluffy, timid, ear-nibbling distractions.

If you’re wondering what raccoons are like, think two-year-olds... if they had overdosed on Adderall, were late for a meeting, and can’t find their keys, so they have to tear everything apart with no regard for the path of destruction they leave behind.

They also did a great job proving my point about pushing through distractions during the work day.

If you missed it, go watch the video.

Anyway, this is my life. Myself, Macie and two raccoon babies we can get to hang out with 🦝

I’m currently dealing with a mid-life crisis.

Not the kind where I’m going to buy a Corvette or be that old guy at a rave…

My highest value in my life is contribution. If I’m not adding value, I feel like I’m just wasting good air.

How I contribute has evolved over the years.

➝ In my 20s, I was all about personal development and I was committed to bringing out the best in people. Only now as I reflect back, do I realize how under-qualified I actually was to develop the lives of others while I was still very clearly a work-in-progress. Ahhh, the arrogance of youth.

➝ In my mid 30s-40s, that circle of contribution expanded beyond personal development to business development. So I focused on how to make businesses better instead of making people better. Only now as I reflect back, do I realize how under-qualified I actually was to develop the businesses of others while I was no where near reaching the potential of my own company. Ahhh the arrogance of ‘success’.

➝ In my 50s, that circle expanded again as my focus grew from business development to community development. In 2019 I ran for Mayor of Tampa (came in dead last). I didn’t have to wait till now to realize just how under-qualified I actually was; the votes told me on election night. Ahhh, the arrogance of self-confidence.

So, what’s my crisis? Realizing that I’m still a work-in-progress, my company still has room to grow, and my community still needs leadership that focuses on what matters.

If you wait until you are ‘ready’ to do something, you’ll likely never do anything.

We are never ready. We just do the best we can with the resources we have. And then? Do better tomorrow.

Being right is overrated.

Being willing to be wrong? That’s where real power is.

Most of us don’t lose debates because we lack evidence. We lose because we cling to our feelings.

When something challenges what we believe, we don’t analyze it… we defend it. We dig in deeper.

Congrats! You’ve just activated the Backfire Effect. No winners, only two people convinced the other is clueless.

Here’s the truth nobody enjoys hearing:
Your ego is the biggest bottleneck to your personal and professional growth.

The people who succeed aren’t the ones who are always right.
They’re the ones who can say, “I might have this wrong” without needing medical assistance afterward.

So ask yourself:

Could I be wrong?
And most importantly: am I willing to be wrong?

I was a wreck last week.

My dog, Macie, had surgery.

Instead of giving myself the time to deal with it, my calendar stayed exactly the same.

I kept three online workshops on the schedule because I pride myself on showing up.

I told myself it would be fine. That it would be a welcome distraction for a few hours.

It wasn’t.

My attention was divided and scattered. I was checking my phone for updates and missed calls. That’s not the standard I hold myself to.

Macie’s okay ❤️
But I learnt a tough lesson.

Strength isn’t always about pushing through. It’s about recognizing when doing so benefits no one.

What’s something you pushed through recently that deserved more attention?

New game… 🥁
Where’s the ?

It’s easy. Way easier than finding Waldo.

I thought I’d read a genuinely thoughtful comment on my recent raccoon post on LinkedIn. Then I saw one right below that was almost identical.

Yep. AI.

Instant ick.

AI should refine your thoughts, not replace them.

If you’re outsourcing your point of view instead of responding honestly, and think people can’t tell... we can.

The irony?
Both comments came from social media “experts.” LOL.

Rant over. Now I need a publisher 😂