Today, when I need information quickly, I turn to AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity. The idea that you can ask a chatbot whatever you want and have it spit out an answer in seconds is pretty close to my idea of heaven on Earth. (Those answers need to be verified, of course.) Information became widely available with the advent of the internet. But data is not the same as understanding. The web gave us an ocean of information, but it dumped it on us in an undifferentiated heap. A search might return hundreds of results, all written for somebody who isn't quite you - or wasn't even looking for the same answers. Of course, real learning isn't just about reading the right material. It's about asking for details, clarification, and examples. Today, anyone can sit down with a superintelligent AI assistant that never gets tired, never makes you feel foolish, and adjusts to you in real time. The plain-English translation of a technical field used to require finding a rare person who both understood the field, could teach it, and was willing to let you access their time. Personalized mentoring that was once reserved for the elite is now available to anyone with a phone, at a cost that rounds to nothing. Every prior leap - books, libraries, the internet - improved access to information. AI improves understanding, on demand, calibrated to you. It collapses the distance between "the answer exists somewhere" and "I get it." For most of history that distance was where dreams went to die. This serves not just the expert, who already had access to other experts, but the individual with an ambition but no obvious path to the necessary knowledge. I'm talking about the kid who wants to eat healthier and grow fitter but doesn't know where to start. Someone who wants to start a business but doesn't know what a balance sheet is. An investor who wants to become financially independent but doesn't understand asset allocation or diversification... or why we even have a stock market. Of course, easy access to knowledge is not the same as having it. It's important to put this knowledge to use with daily practice. You need to convert it into experience. But, for almost everyone who has ever lived, the lack of knowledge was the key constraint. That wall is coming down at the fastest rate in human history. It's now a matter of whether you can pick a goal worth pursuing and commit to it. It's whether you can build the daily habits that turn knowledge into skill. The part of the formula that used to be hardest is now, increasingly, the part you have the least excuse to neglect. The opportunity to pursue anything you reasonably want is now sitting in your pocket, patient and waiting. What you do with this knowledge is the rest of the formula. Forming the right habits, which I'll discuss in my next column, is the most important step. Good investing, Alex
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