I'm Getting The AI Ick
And that really sucks...
I’m tired.
Not “I need a vacation” tired. Not “long week” tired.
I’m tired of the AI space.
And I know that’s weird coming from the guy who writes an AI newsletter every week. But hear me out.
The Grifter Takeover
The AI space is exhausting right now.
Every day, my LinkedIn feed is flooded with:
“🚀 I made $10K in 3 days with this ONE AI prompt! Comment ‘NONSENSICAL WORD’ and I’ll send it to you FOR FREE…PROMISE”
“🔥 7-figure business in 30 days using ChatGPT!”
“💰 This AI tool CHANGED MY LIFE (affiliate link in bio)”
It’s the same people who were selling NFTs two years ago. The same people who were crypto bros before that. The same people who were dropshipping gurus before that.
They didn’t build anything. They didn’t help anyone. They just found the new gold rush and started selling shovels.
And now they’re selling AI courses.
$997 for “AI mastery.” $1,500 for “prompt engineering secrets.” $2,500 for “AI business blueprints.”
Most of them started using ChatGPT six months ago. Some of them still don’t know the difference between GPT-5 and Claude Opus 4.5.
But they’ve got the marketing down. The testimonials. The before/after screenshots. The scarcity timers.
And it works. Because people are desperate to believe AI will solve all their problems.
Real Business Win: The People Actually Doing The Work
This is the part that exhausts me.
Finding the real ones takes work.
You have to dig past the grifters. Past the hype merchants. Past the people who repackage OpenAI’s documentation and call it a course.
You have to find the people who’ve been in the trenches. Who built actual businesses before AI existed. Who understand technology AND business.
Like Angela Pitter.
Angela’s not some AI overnight success story. She’s been running LiveWire Collaborative since 2012. That’s 13 years.
She’s got a Computer Engineering degree from Boston University. She spent 20+ years in corporate tech leading global product teams. She’s a certified Project Management Professional.
She didn’t discover AI in 2023 and decide to become a guru.
She’s been using digital marketing and technology to help mid-sized businesses ($10-30M revenue) and nonprofits for over a decade. When AI tools became useful, she integrated them. She didn’t rebrand her entire business around them.
Now she runs a program called “Building Thought Leadership with LinkedIn” where she teaches C-suite executives how to actually use LinkedIn. No cheats or shortcuts. No growth hacks. No “viral secrets.”
Real strategy. Budget-conscious. Scalable. Sustainable.
She was named a Commonwealth Heroine. Twice named to Boston’s “50 Most Influential Business People of Color.” She chairs the Charles River Regional Chamber. She serves on Boston University’s Black Alumni Leadership Council.
None of that happened because she sold an AI course.
It happened because she’s been doing real work for real businesses for 13 years.
That’s the difference.
Angela uses AI as a tool. The grifters use AI as a marketing hook.
Angela teaches you how to think. The grifters sell you templates.
Angela’s been building her reputation for over a decade. The grifters showed up last year.
Try This Today & Spot The Grift
Here’s how you know someone’s selling snake oil:
They promise fast results. “10X your business in 30 days!”
They lead with income claims. “I made $50K last month!”
Their expertise is recent. Check their LinkedIn. Were they in AI two years ago? Or were they in crypto?
They sell courses, not results. Real consultants get paid when you succeed. Grifters get paid when you buy.
They have more students than clients. If they’re so good at AI, why aren’t they working with businesses?
Here’s how you know someone’s legit:
They’ve been doing this longer than AI has been trendy.
They talk about specific problems they solved for specific clients.
They have credentials that existed before ChatGPT launched.
They teach principles, not shortcuts.
They’re recognized by actual institutions, not just social media followers.
Angela Pitter checks every single one of those boxes.
Why This Matters
The grifter problem isn’t just annoying.
It’s actively hurting people.
Small business owners are spending thousands of dollars on courses that don’t work. They’re wasting months following advice from people who’ve never run a real business.
And then they think AI doesn’t work.
They tried it. They followed the “expert.” They bought the course. Nothing happened.
So they give up.
And that’s the real tragedy.
AI does work. When you learn it from people who actually understand technology and business. When you focus on solving real problems instead of chasing hype.
But you’ll never know that if your introduction to AI is some grifter selling you a $1,500 prompt pack.
This is why I keep writing this newsletter.
Because the people who need AI the most are the ones getting ripped off the hardest.
The small business owners who don’t have time to sort through the garbage. The employees trying to keep their jobs. The people just trying to work smarter, not harder.
They deserve better than grifters.
They deserve people like Angela Pitter.
I’m not going to pretend this doesn’t frustrate me.
Finding the bright spots in this space takes work. Real work.
But they’re out there.
Angela Pitter is one of them. If you want to see what real AI education looks like, check out her work at LiveWire Collaborative.
And follow her on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelapitter/
No get-rich-quick promises. Just real strategy from someone who’s been doing this since before it was cool.
That’s the kind of person worth paying attention to.
See you next Wednesday, Dex
P.S. - If you’re selling an AI course and you’re mad about this newsletter, good. You should be. Do better or get out.
P.P.S. - Another shout out, I made a dope LinkedIn friend, her name is Stephanie Coalson, she and her husband are two of my most favorite people on the platform right now, and she specializes in all things Disney vacations! She will be helping plan the Brocks family 2026 Disney Trip, and I’m very excited for that. Check her out if you want to level up your Disney trip experience! https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-coalson-%F0%9F%8F%B0-333660266/
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