Run The Day in the Age of AI

An AI tsunami seems to be coming. At least, many smart people are predicting it. Jensen Huang believes that AI will make more millionaires in the next 5 years than the internet did in 20. AI debates tend to be about when and how it will dramatically change our world – not whether the new technology will produce dramatic changes. That much, everyone agrees on.

Simply predicting that AI is coming is not what I’m going to say here – after all, there’s no shortage of blogs, podcasts and news articles exploring AI. Instead, I’ll briefly touch on an inevitable byproduct of AI then share how I believe the new technology will impact Run The Day.

At the dawn of 2026, here is what I believe AI means for Run The Day.

AI will increase economic inequality

It is uncomfortable to write. It can be uncomfortable to even think. A greater divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ is not something that most people want. Economic inequality often creates feelings of resentment, jealousy and hatred. In the best case, inequality reduces happiness. In the worst case, inequality produces violence and prevents cooperation.

To be clear, I am not advocating for increased economic inequality. I’m simply acknowledging that economic inequality will increase as the rate of innovation accelerates. This happens when powerful new tools (like AI) create greater variability in productivity levels.

Thoughtful policy can help, but I don’t see a realistic path forward where economic inequality does not increase as AI becomes ubiquitous. By accepting increased economic inequality as something that will probably happen, we free ourselves to focus on building the best world possible for all humans in a society that is economically not equal.

Without events that unite us, we’re headed for disaster

In a polarized society with increasing economic inequality, we need opportunities to come together. We may not be equal economically, but we are equal as human souls. This is true regardless of our net worth, religion, political party and skin color. Events that bring us together remind us of this.

The COVID pandemic made it clear that we are social creatures who need to come together as a community. There are many great types of events that bring people together. My personal favorites involve sports. NBA World Champion Sam Presti said it best in 2019 when he wrote, “Sports create a set of intense memories through which individuals come together to form a larger community.” He was talking about professional basketball games in Oklahoma City, but the same could be said for sporting events (including 5K races) in any town.

The connections created at events give us proof that we are members of a larger community. Without these bonds, it is easy for jealousy and resentment to build. This can spiral and lead us somewhere we don’t want to be. As we head into the future, events that bring us together will become the glue holding our society together by reminding us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

AI will change the way that work gets done when planning a race

Organizing a race requires months of thoughtful planning, clear communication and enthusiastic promotion. Today, humans use software like registration platforms, spreadsheets and email lists that are essential parts of the race planning workflow. In the future, AI will take a good portion of this work off our plates.

While observing how our software is used by people planning races, I’ve noticed that people prefer fast and easy ways of getting the job done well. Many tech companies market their products as a delightful experience, but in reality nobody feels delighted using software. People are delighted by the results that get produced from their use of the software. If AI can do more of the work for us, we’ll be happy to skip using the software and just get the job done more efficiently.

The breakdown of tasks (human vs. AI) is still to be figured out. But when the technology gets reliable, we will no longer navigate software by dragging, dropping, pointing and clicking. Instead, we will communicate our ideas, visions and feedback naturally to AI for the task to get executed, like a boss speaks to her executive assistant.

Participants will expect event registration to be easy

Today, it’s easy to stay on the couch watching Netflix, YouTube or TikTok instead of committing to a challenge like running a 5k race. By removing friction from the registration process, we can make it easier for people to commit to getting off the couch. When completing registration forms, people just want their information to be in the system accurately. We already have little patience for annoying administrative tasks. Soon, nobody will have the patience to fill out form.

Instead, I envision that we’ll register for events by directly communicating with AI. We’ll say things like “I’d like to register myself and my 3 kids for the Turkey Trot in Wayne next week.” AI will ask clarifying questions, like confirming our shirt size and if we’d like to join a team, then confirm the total price and payment method before processing our registration. Instead of annoying forms, we’ll simply communicate naturally, like we would to a friend who is helping us out.

Just like mailing paper registration forms with a check now seems like a big chore, soon completing online registration forms will feel the same.

More races means healthier individuals in stronger communities

As AI increases economic inequality, we need events that unite us. That way, we feel more connected to each other and to our larger community. With better technology that makes race planning less stressful and registration easier, the future will have more races that have higher attendance. The result will be healthier individuals in stronger communities.

Coming together to run is something that transcends race, religion, gender, politics and geography. As the AI tsunami comes crashing to shore, we need these events now more than ever.

— Ian