Friends,
If you ever visit Michigan State University, you'll find one of the most bewildering sidewalk layouts in the country.
As a campus publication put it in 2023, "It’s as though the campus were somehow squeezed into a fishnet stocking." Administrators asked professionals if the layout could be made more efficient.
The shocking results: this was -- by far -- the most efficient layout.
And that's actually by design. In the 1960s -- when this part of the campus opened -- planners intentionally put in no sidewalks. Only after "desired paths" appeared from foot traffic did the planners pave them over.
The result: there's no wasted space!
By purposely eschewing top-down mandates for clean lines and right angles and embracing bottom-up design that relied on hundreds of tiny decisions, the campus achieves this feat.
Today's businesses (and their employees) could learn a lot from Michigan State. Many are trying to figure out how to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) throughout their workforce.
A July 2025 report from MIT -- The GenAI Divide -- highlights the conundrum executives are in. The key takeaway from the report that's getting all the attention:
"Despite $30–40 billion in enterprise investment into GenAI...95% of organizations are getting zero return."
That might make you think AI is a huge waste. But that ignores the most vital piece of information from the report: the role of "The Shadow AI Economy":
"Behind the disappointing enterprise deployment numbers lies a surprising reality: AI is already transforming work, just not through official channels.
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Our research uncovered a thriving "shadow AI economy" where employees use personal ChatGPT accounts, Claude subscriptions, and other consumer tools to automate significant portions of their jobs, often without IT knowledge or approval."
The piece concludes by saying businesses that learn from the habits of their employees (the "Michigan State approach") rather than top-down mandates will be the ones that eventually derive the most value from AI.
While not explicitly focused on investing, we find the long-term takeaway to be telling. If you want to remain valuable in the Era of AI (and continue to make enough money to invest), you have two simple duties: be curious and experiment.
We've long believed that curiosity and experimentation are the cornerstones of creating long-term success and antifragility -- in investing, and in life. Instead of being frightened by AI, embrace it. Decades from now, you (and your families) will be glad you did!
Wishing you investing success,
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Brian Feroldi, Brian Stoffel, & Brian Withers
Long-Term Mindset
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P.S. - Read any good content about how A.I. can help with stock investing? We'd love to feature it! Just reply with the source link and your name.
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