Abe Alba

Why do most people struggle with money in the digital age?

I came across an Instagram post that explained that it is not the information, but the format, that’s lucrative in today’s world. Apparently, the reason is that the Internet first and, AI more recently, have made information free and abundant for anyone with a smartphone or a computer. So, why do we remain financially illiterate when money is fundamentally a lifelong relationship?

I’m such a big fan of AI, it brought back my fascination for technology, something I lost along the way for personal reasons. It amazes me how we went from giant vacuum-tube computers to pocket-sized devices capable of a bidirectional conversation with a human. The way I see it, AI is not intrinsically good or bad, it depends entirely on how people use it.

I’d hate to simplify such an important debate; however, I’m not here to talk about tech, but money; my question remains: Why are we struggling with this matter of life and death when there’s so much information available? Plus, why do we remain illiterate now that we can ask AI anything and get it to explain things in simple terms? Could it be that we simply don’t know what questions to ask? It usually happens when we are not versed in something; even if we are genuinely interested, we wouldn’t know how to keep the conversation going. Am I right?

That leads me to something really important: Our parents have to pay when we are born, and dying is certainly not for free. I think this reveals that money is an extension of our humanity. It is impressive how much you can learn about a person just by paying attention to what they do when they earn, when they go bankrupt, when they owe, or when people owe them.

There’s no wonder that the Bible emphasizes so deeply the fact that we must pay attention to our relationship with money; just as we should with food and exercise. That said, AI is not the only one we should try to learn from, it is always a good idea to be around people who can mentor us. We may not know what to ask them at first, but the relationship itself will teach us a lot.

Monetary exchange is not created out of thin air, but out of human relationships and interaction. We should never lose sight of that.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Abe Alba