A funny story, or a joke that doesn't age, is wisdom. One such true story was narrated by Steve Jobs back in 1983.

Jobs recounted a conversation he had with an elderly gentleman who was about 80 years old and had worked for AT&T.

This man was one of the original telephone installers who would travel across rural America installing telephones in farmhouses.

Back then, farmers had never seen anything like a telephone. The technician's job was to run two wires from the telephone pole to connect the phone inside the home.

One day, after installing a telephone for an Italian family on their farm, the technician was about to leave when the Italian gentleman asked him:

"Can I speak Italian on this phone?"

The technician replied: "Why didn't you tell me before? I need to run a third green wire from the pole. It'll be $50 extra."

This humorous anecdote highlights an important truth: whenever new technology emerges, it takes a decade or more for people to understand it well enough to ask the right questions.

We’re still in the very early days of AI-as-a-Service.

But in many ways, aren’t we all a bit like that Italian farmer?

What do you think?

Read all my “Notes to Self” at view all blogs.

Epilogue:
I really enjoyed listening to Steve Jobs keynote talk at the 1983 International Design Conference in Aspen. The funny story was part of that memorable talk. Steve was a true visionary, with an uncanny knack for seeing the future.