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Athletic Entrepreneur — Issue #101

The Global AI Edition · April 2026

FIELD REPORT

America Turns Out More Millionaires Than Any Other Country, but….

China. Jamaica. The US. Three different countries. Three different approaches to AI in schools. One outcome that will define the next generation of wealth — and who gets left out of it.

Let Me Tell You Where I Started

I’ve been using AI since 2010.

Not ChatGPT — ChatGPT didn’t exist. But artificial intelligence as a concept, as a tool, as a competitive advantage? I was building with it before most people knew how to spell it. My first social media account in 2010 was built on AI principles. And GSIP — my brainchild, built from scratch — is proof of what happens when an athlete refuses to wait for permission to evolve.

I say that not to brag. I say it because I need you to understand something: I’m probably the most AI-fluent athlete in the world right now. And if a kid from my background figured this out without a classroom ever teaching it, I never got a college degree — imagine what these young men and women could do if their schools actually leaned in.

That’s the conversation we need to have. Globally.

Three Countries. Three Decisions. One Race.

🇨🇳 China: All In — By Law

China didn’t debate this. China decided.

As of September 2025, AI education is now mandatory for every elementary and middle school student in Beijing and several other districts — with a nationwide rollout underway. This isn’t optional enrichment. This is law.

Third graders are learning the basics of AI. Fourth graders move into data and coding. By fifth grade, students are studying intelligent agents and algorithms. The goal, straight from China’s Ministry of Education, is to build a generation of AI-fluent professionals that can dominate the global economy. They’re calling it the “AI Plus Education” initiative. And they’re spending nearly $27 billion on AI infrastructure by 2026 to back it up.

One Chinese father, after taking his 11-year-old son to a Xiaomi robotics factory, said it plainly: “In the future, you’ll need to maintain robots, program them and guide them — not compete with them.”

An 11-year-old in Beijing is already building AI-programmed robots and thinking about deep space exploration. That’s who your kid is competing against for the next generation of jobs, contracts, and market share.

🇯🇲 Jamaica: Moving Faster Than You Think

Here’s the one that surprised me — and it shouldn’t have, because Jamaica has always punched above its weight. Afterall they are the fastest humans in the world.

Jamaica is not sitting still. The Ministry of Education is actively testing AI tools in schools right now. They’re launching the Jamaica Learning Assistant — an AI-powered personalized learning platform — and they’ve already trained 760 teachers through UNICEF-backed AI workshops in the summer of 2025. They opened an AI task force to integrate AI into the national curriculum at every level. They’re distributing 15,000 laptops, 600 smart boards, and 25,000 vouchers to get teachers equipped.

An 18-year-old student at Immaculate Conception High School in Kingston — Meron McPherson — built an AI-powered real estate app called Home Finder AI while preparing for her CAPE exams. She saw a problem in her community and used AI to solve it. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit Jamaica has always had. Now it has the tools to match.

Jamaica isn’t just catching up. Jamaica is moving with intention.

🇺🇸 America: Still Arguing

And then there’s the United States.

The country that produces more millionaires annually than any other nation on earth. The country that invented the internet, built Silicon Valley, and launched the AI revolution — is still having school board meetings about whether kids should be allowed to use ChatGPT.

Let that sit for a second.

The American Millionaire Paradox

Here’s something worth sitting with: America’s track record on wealth creation is unmatched. More millionaires are minted here every year than anywhere else in the world. But here’s the thing almost nobody says out loud —

Those millionaires didn’t get there working 9-to-5.

They got there by building companies. By spotting inefficiency, identifying opportunity, and creating something from nothing. Some of them started with a job — but they left that job. They bet on themselves. They built.

The school system didn’t make them rich. It gave them a foundation — sometimes. But the wealth came from critical thinking, risk tolerance, entrepreneurial instinct, and the willingness to use every available tool to outwork the competition.

AI is just the newest tool. The most powerful tool in the history of human productivity.

And schools banning it aren’t protecting the American millionaire tradition. They’re undermining it.

The NIL Athlete Sitting in the Middle of All of This

Let’s bring it back to the athlete. Because this hits differently when you’re 20 years old, competing at the highest level, running your own brand, filing your own taxes, and trying to understand what an LLC actually means.

NIL changed everything. College athletes can now profit from their name, image, and likeness. We handed them the keys to a business.

But we didn’t hand them the education to run it.

A sophomore wide receiver at a Power Five school is negotiating brand deals, managing a content calendar, posting daily, growing a following, and trying to not fail organic chemistry — while his school’s administration has flagged AI as an academic integrity threat.

Think about what AI could do for that kid. Not to write his papers. To help him run his life like the CEO he’s supposed to be. Draft contract language. Model financial scenarios. Build a content system. Research tax implications. Create a learning plan around his actual situation instead of a textbook designed for someone else’s reality.

What The Scoreboard Actually Says

Here’s what the real-time data tells us:

China — mandatory AI curriculum, 3rd grade through university, $27B investment, national mission.

Jamaica — government task force, AI learning assistant, 760 teachers trained, 18-year-olds building apps and solving real problems.

United States — debating whether letting a kid use ChatGPT is cheating.

Meanwhile, companies across every industry are laying off thousands. Not because the economy is broken. Because AI is doing the work faster, cheaper, and without calling in sick. The transition is happening whether schools acknowledge it or not. The question is only whether your kid is on the right side of it.

People who use AI will replace people who don’t. That’s not a prediction. That’s already the headline.

What Forward Thinking People Are Doing Right Now

If you’re a parent: Stop waiting for your school to catch up. Get your kid using AI tools now. Teach them how to ask good questions, verify answers, and build things. That’s the real curriculum.

If you’re an athlete: You are already a business. Treat yourself like one. Use AI to draft proposals, plan content, understand your finances, and build skills that survive after the jersey comes off.

If you’re an entrepreneur — anywhere in the world: The gap between AI-fluent and AI-avoidant is growing every single day. The compounding advantage of starting now versus starting next year is not small.

If you’re a school administrator: Look at what China is doing. Look at what Jamaica is doing. Ask yourself honestly — are you preparing students for the world that’s coming, or protecting a model that’s already expired?

The Closing Truth

America turns out more millionaires than any country on earth. Not because of the school system. Because of the culture of building, the tolerance for risk, and the relentless pursuit of the next edge.

AI is the next edge. It’s not coming. It’s here.

The kid in Beijing building AI robots in 5th grade knows it. The 18-year-old in Kingston building real estate apps before her college exams knows it. The athlete managing a six-figure NIL deal with no financial education needs to know it.

And if you’ve been using AI since 2010 like I have — you already knew it.

The question is what you’re going to do with that knowledge now.

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