FIELD NOTES // Episode 2

Artificial Intelligence

DATE: July 2, 2026

LOCATION: Somewhere between disruption and discernment

OBSERVATIONS

• AI is changing work faster than most organizations understand.

• Efficiency without judgment can become another form of waste.

• Experience still matters, especially when the tools are new.

DISCUSSION

Jarad, Brandon, and Travis explore the promises and consequences of AI, from layoffs, productivity, and changing careers to the human judgment, creativity, and experience technology cannot yet replace.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

→ AI can increase output, but it cannot replace discernment.

→ There is no compression algorithm for experience.

→ New tools should expand human potential, not simply justify cutting people.

FOR FURTHER STUDY

Ask yourself: Am I using AI to think better—or simply to move faster?

END OF NOTES

WHERE TO FIND US

Brandon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brmiddle/

Travis - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlzimbelman/

Jarad - www.myoldnotebooks.com [http://www.myoldnotebooks.com/]; https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaradbacklund/

Field Notes on AI

FIELD NOTES // Episode 1: Higher Education

LOCATION: Between Silicon Valley, Minnesota, and the future of learning
SUBJECT: Kids, AI, college, and the skills that still matter

OBSERVATIONS
• AI is already part of how kids learn, create, and ask questions.
• Screens are everywhere, but so is the need for creativity, judgment, and real conversation.
• College still matters, but the old path of good grades → college → good job feels less certain.

DISCUSSION
In this episode of Field Notes, Jarad, Brandon, and Travis talk about higher education, AI, parenting, and how to prepare kids for a future none of us can fully predict.

From indoor kids and screen-time battles to bigger questions about college, work, and lifelong learning, the conversation asks what skills will matter most in an AI-shaped world.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
→ Education still matters, but the format may change.
→ AI fluency is becoming a life skill.
→ Creativity, critical thinking, and human connection may matter more than ever.
→ There is no perfect parenting formula. We are all adapting as we go.

FIELD QUESTION
If your kids can access almost any information instantly, what do you most want them to learn how to do with it?

END OF NOTES

WHERE TO FIND US

Brandon - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brmiddle/

Travis - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlzimbelman/

Jarad - www.myoldnotebooks.com [http://www.myoldnotebooks.com/]; https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaradbacklund/

Field Notes on Higher Education

FIELD NOTES is a podcast where three friends talk about tech, family, faith, and the messiness of everyday life.

Each episode explores the questions we are working through in real time — how to lead well, raise kids, build meaningful careers, stay grounded, and make sense of a world that keeps changing. With honest conversation, humor, and a willingness to admit we are all still figuring it out, Field Notes is part reflection, part hot take, and part invitation to pay closer attention to the life right in front of us.

Jarad Backlund

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