Local Artificial Intelligence Leader Gives Guidance

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can cause head scratching alongside comments that it’s the “greatest current gift to humanity” vs. something to fear? So, we turn to experts to advise on how we harness it to for good use and with wisdom.

Atlanta native Mark Michelson, CEO of Stitches AI Training Solutions and Threads Strategic Research, has jumped all in to learn the industry and consult on its best practices to help avoid AI abuse.

His advice for businesses specifically begins, “Start with clearly defined problems, not solutions looking for problems. Ensure data quality — garbage in, garbage out. Begin with pilot programs before scaling. Invest in training your people, as AI amplifies human capability. Measure real business impact, not tech metrics.”

More importantly, he cautions against “implementing AI without understanding current processes well enough to know what needs improvement. Also, against ‘AI washing’—rebranding existing software with AI terminology without delivering real capabilities.”

Michelson teaches these business no-no’s: “Don’t automate broken processes — fix them first. Don’t replace human judgment entirely; AI should augment critical thinking. Don’t ignore privacy and security. Don’t expect immediate ROI, as implementation takes time. Don’t underestimate change management.”

For individuals, Michelson warns against sharing sensitive personal or financial information with AI platforms. And not making important decisions based solely on AI output — without verifying.  “AI can be confidently wrong, so maintain healthy skepticism. Watch for investment scams promising guaranteed returns through ‘AI trading systems.’ Fake AI content services charging premium prices for basic automation. Phishing schemes using AI-generated voices or images to impersonate trusted individuals are all red flags.”

His custom training sessions offer four formats: two-day skill courses with online learning, homework, then sharing what’s been built. Five-day workshops meet weekly to create workflow agents with one-day “hackathon” classes where teams solve real problems.

Michelson has been entrepreneurial since childhood. After graduating from University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism in 1984, he started The Ad Shop at age 22. After a few years, he was drawn toward marketing research: focus groups, surveys, mystery shopping operations worldwide. He visited 73 countries and worked in 22 of them. When asked how one enters a new technology field like AI at age 60, he replied, “The key is never stopping learning. I was an early adopter back in the days of punch cards, then the Commodore 64, TRS-80, and the Macintosh. My research background taught me to analyze patterns and trends, which translates perfectly to understanding how technology works.”

Looking ahead, should workers be afraid of AI taking their jobs? Not so, says Michelson, “AI will create more jobs than it eliminates. Every major technological shift sparked job displacement fears, but what happens is transformation and new job categories. We’ll see roles in AI management, human-AI collaboration, and creative problem-solving we can’t imagine yet.”

In his spare time, Michelson shares a musical talent with sister, Jeni, who plays keyboard with her trio at many Jewish mitzvahs. Michelson is into monthly guitar jams at Steve Grossman’s Steve’s Live Music, where he conducts 25-30 musicians performing tributes to The Beatles, Eagles, Dylan, and Pink Floyd. He related, “Music keeps me grounded and balances the analytical work. Whether teaching AI strategy or jamming with friends, it’s about bringing people together and creating something meaningful. Technology changes, but human connections remain constant.”