You In Danger, Girl: What 10 Days in NYC Taught Me About AI & the Future of Work

Queens, I just spent 10 days in New York City, and AI was not just in my phone like usual. It was on every billboard, in every subway car, in the shop windows, and even at the brunch table next to me. The whole trip I kept bouncing between two feelings: is this all hype, or is there real hope here? I think it's both right now, exciting and uncertain at the same time, and I have a feeling I'm not the only one who feels that way. It started at a tiny restaurant on my last day, where I overheard a woman talk about dropping a slow research department's report into AI and getting her answers in minutes. That little moment stuck with me the entire trip, because it's a window into how fast the future of work is shifting and who gets to thrive in it. Here's what stood out: You don't need a big project to start. Hand AI one annoying thing on your plate (mine was packing a carry-on for 10 days across two wild climates) and just see what it does. There's a real difference between using AI well and using it lazily. Curating and editing the output looks intentional. Slapping whatever falls out on a sign tells your customers you didn't care. New York Tech Week showed me two versions of the future in one week: a cold room of dudes optimizing for bots, and a warm room of women building together and helping each other get unstuck. The person who decides to get genuinely good at directing AI is the one their company can't live without. That person can be you. The wave is coming, and you get to choose whether you watch it roll toward you or learn to ride it. You don't have to wait for someone else to build the tools you need. The barrier is so much lower than you think, and you can start this month, this week, today. Want to actually build something with me? Join the free live AI Queens Buildathon on June 24th at 1pm Eastern. We'll build a Claude Command Center together, step by step, no coding required. Don't be the one in danger. Be the one who builds. Grab your spot at aiqueens.com/build. Mentioned in this episode: Register for the Buildathon: aiqueens.com/build My NYC packing plan, built with Claude: Erika's NYC Trip — Outfit Planner v2 The Claude Command Center precursor episode: Claude Runs My Day: How I Built a Morning Command Center to Stop Holding It All in My Head Connect with Erika Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@erikatheaiqueen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AIQueens.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Mile End Digital: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MileEndDigital.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ AI Queens Society Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AI Queens Society