Staying Relevant When AI Is Coming for You

In an era where AI threatens to automate entire job categories, the real competitive advantage isn't specialization—it's strategic curiosity. This talk explores how deliberately cultivating knowledge across cybersecurity, networking, and data fundamentals transforms AI from an existential threat into a powerful amplifier of capabilities.

Drawing from real-world experience, the speaker will demonstrate how understanding the underlying systems and domains AI operates within allows professionals to:

Leverage AI as a force multiplier rather than a replacement. When one grasps the fundamentals of how networks operate, security vulnerabilities emerge, and data flows through systems, they can prompt AI tools with precision and validate outputs with confidence. The goal is to become the orchestrator, not the obsolete.

Ask better questions and spot AI's blind spots. Breadth of knowledge enables professionals to recognize when AI is hallucinating, missing context, or suggesting solutions that look good on paper but fail in practice. They catch the edge cases because they've encountered them before.

Bridge disciplines in ways AI can't (yet). The intersections between cybersecurity, networking, and data create unique problem-solving opportunities. Understanding how network topology affects data security, or how data patterns reveal security incidents, provides synthesis capabilities that pure AI lacks.

This isn't about becoming a polymath or mastering every domain deeply. It's about strategic learning: building enough foundational knowledge across adjacent fields to turn AI into a powerful tool rather than a replacement. The session will discuss practical approaches to curiosity-driven learning, specific examples of AI-enhanced workflows, and why the professionals thriving in the AI age are the ones who stayed relentlessly curious.

Whether attendees are worried about job security or simply want to maximize AI's potential in their work, this session will reframe how they think about learning, relevance, and human-AI collaboration.

Important Parking and Directions
The address for the Cabarrus Center is 57 Union St. S Concord, NC 28025. Free parking is available in the Cabarrus County Parking Deck located at 81 Spring St. SW Concord, NC 28025. There is also the 3-hour Bicentennial Lot behind our building. Here is a map of downtown parking options for your reference.

Sponsors

• FocalGroove provides groovy marketing and facilitation.
• Special thanks to Flywheel Coworking for providing our meeting space in their fantastic Concord facility!