Why People Need to Get Their Hands Dirty with AI
Until you understand it better, we're going to be limited in our ability to agree on how to regulate it
I’ve been thinking more and more about how AI is starting to get pulled into partisan conversations. And since workforce of the future is important to the focus of USTomorrow, that doesn’t sit right with me.
AI isn’t a political position. It’s a tool—no different than the computer or the internet. The real issue isn’t the technology itself, it’s how we choose to use it. But before we even get to that point, we have a more basic problem: most people don’t actually understand how it works.
And that’s where leadership comes in.
You Can’t Lead What You Don’t Understand
In the Army, I learned a hard truth about leadership: you cannot lead what you do not understand.
Back in 2006, when that photo was taken in Mosul, Iraq, I was serving as the Squadron XO for 1/9 Cavalry. We had nearly 1,000 Soldiers and hundreds of pieces of equipment spread across everything from vehicles and weapons to communications, medical, and intelligence systems.
I wasn’t the expert in any one of those areas.
I wasn’t the best marksman. I wasn’t the master gunner. I wasn’t the mechanic or the intel officer.
But I had to understand how it all worked.
Because when something broke down—and it always did—I had to make decisions. Real decisions with trade-offs between time, money, and mission risk. If I couldn’t follow the troubleshooting recommended, I couldn’t lead effectively.
Leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about having enough understanding to see the whole picture while your team is deep in the details.
The Same Lesson in Business & Politics
That lesson didn’t go away when I left the Army.
When we built RideScout, I wasn’t the lead developer. But I had to understand how the product worked and how the MVP was being built. If the CEO is disconnected from the technology, the company is operating blind.
You don’t need to write the code. But you do need to understand the logic.
AI Is Today’s Version of That Problem
Today, that same challenge is showing up with AI.
I talk to a lot of people (i.e. business leaders) who are trying to stay “high level” on AI. They read summaries, attend panels, and talk strategy. But they’re not actually using the tools.
That’s a mistake.
The pace of change right now is fast enough that what worked even a few months ago can already feel outdated. You can’t lead through that kind of shift from a distance.
My Own Approach
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been forcing myself to get hands-on.
Not just reading about AI—but actually using it. Testing tools. Breaking workflows. Trying to understand where it works well and where it doesn’t.
And I’ll be honest, it’s been fun.
It reminds me of sitting in front of my first computer (and IBM PCjr), trying to get BASIC code to run. That same sense of figuring things out as you go.
Where I Think People Are Getting It Wrong
What concerns me is that a lot of leaders (business and political) are hesitant to admit they don’t understand this yet.
So instead, they default to safe language—frameworks, policies, strategy decks.
But without real understanding underneath, that’s not leadership. It’s just positioning.
The baseline has shifted. If you’re not willing to engage directly with the technology, you’re not really leading on it.
Bringing It Back to the Bigger Point
AI shouldn’t be something that divides us politically.
It should be something that challenges us to step up.
To learn.
To experiment.
To get a little uncomfortable.
Because that’s what leadership has always required.
The Question
So here’s the question I’ve been asking myself:
Am I actually learning how this works… or am I just talking about it?
Curious how others are approaching it—what’s one AI tool you’ve used that actually helped you understand things better?
Joseph Kopser
Co-Founder of USTomorrow.us
That's exactly what Jim VandeHei was saying on Morning Joe last week.