If You’re Over 40, You’re Ready to Use A.I. (Debbie Millman)

This article appeared in The New York Times, July 27, 2026 “Ms. Millman is a designer and brand strategist, the host of the podcast “Design Matters” and the chair of the master’s program in branding at the School of Visual Arts. There is a stern warning to anyone who wants to study kabbalah, a mystical tradition within Judaism that seeks to uncover the hidden nature of God and the universe: Just wait. In traditional practices, prospective students are urged to delay their studies until they reach the age of 40, at which point it is assumed they will have developed the inner ballast to withstand what they might encounter. We should consider doing something similar for artificial intelligence. I understand how extreme this may sound, especially now that artificial intelligence has already entered seemingly every area of our lives. But the extremity is the point. We have been so quick to treat access to new technology as an inevitability that we have failed to question whether every…