Remembering September 11th: A Personal Reflection on How Crisis Shapes Societal Change

On the morning of September 10th, 2001, I boarded a flight from JFK to South Florida. After living in downtown Manhattan all summer, at The North Cove Marina (World Trade Center Yacht Harbor and Marina) just steps away from the Twin Towers, I was ready for my first vacation in over two years.

At around 8 AM, I left New York behind with a promise from all staff at my company that, for five days, no one would disturb me. The evening before, I enjoyed a dinner at the restaurant atop one of the towers, Windows on the World, a spot where the views were breathtaking, and the friendships we formed with the staff even more so. After the dinner, I relaxed with listening to the piano music and sipping cognac. I was there quite often that summer. The staff would hook me up with great dinners "up high" (in the tower), and I would hook them up with great lunches "down low" (in the marina). We shared meals, stories, and moments that I tresure to this day.

The morning after my flight, early on September 11, my vacation was abruptly interrupted by a phone call from one of my captains. Groggy from my first real sleep in for years, I answered, half-jokingly, warning that unless someone was dead, they would be. He simply told me to turn on the television.

I will never forget what I saw. The first tower was already engulfed in flames, and just moments later, the second was hit. I remember telling the captain, "That is not an accident." Then I went into safety mode. He reassured me that the crew was safe, the ship was fueled, and they were already out of New York’s waters, having gone up the East River, unsure of what was coming next. They were planning to hard provision and fuel, and then otherwise go in wait-and-see mode. That day, our world changed forever.

I spent the rest of the day in shock, like so many others across the country and the world. Watching the devastation of my home unfold from a distance was surreal. My thoughts were with the people I knew and loved, especially those in downtown Manhattan. I couldn't help but wonder how many of them had managed to escape. The grief and disbelief were palpable, and yet, even in the midst of such horror, life continued. Decisions had to be made, and the future - uncertain as it was - had to be prepared for.

In the weeks and months that followed, society began to reshape itself in response to this tragedy. Young men and women who joined the military - some for patriotism, but most because it offered opportunities they couldn't find elsewhere, were soon asked to deploy. For many, the Army National Guard had been safe path forward, providing education, healthcare, and stability in exchange for a weekend of training each month. But that path suddenly came with enourmous sacrifices. Soldiers had to leave their education, jobs, and families. Over the next two decades, an entire generation of children grew up more or less without one or both parents because they were deployed, killed in action, or returned home unable to fully engage in family life due to the mental toll of their service. The impact was gradual, almost imperceptible at first, but now, 23 years later, we can clearly see how families and society have been reshaped. Not only in the United States, but across the world. The reverberations of that day, of that moment, continued long after the dust had settled, becoming part of the fabric of our lives in ways we couldn’t have anticipated.

Now, as we stand 23 years later, where I still struggle to speak of that day, I find myself reflecting not only on the personal losses and the societal shifts that followed 9/11 but also on how crises - whether sudden and violent or gradual and technological - shape the world we live in. No, you cannot compare the horrific mass murder of thousands of innocent people to technological change. But the way these moments ripple through society, creating shockwaves that push us into new, often uncertain directions, is eerily familiar.

When GPT-3, the precursor to ChatGPT, launched, it wasn’t a catastrophe, but it felt like a globally disruptive moment - a jolt to the system. Suddenly, for most people, AI was no longer just a distant concept. People began to realize that a new technology was emerging, one that would alter human life forever. There was a surge of worldwide attention at the outset, perhaps there still is, but the real change will come slowly, yet radically, over the next decades. Much like after 9/11, society, not only in the USA, but across the world, has begun to shift slowly and almost imperceptibly. Human lives are being impacted in way we cannot yet begin to imagine. Policies are being rewritten, industries are rethinking their models, environment is taking a greater tolls, and people are left wondering what the future holds.

We may not fully understand the societal changes AI is bringing - just as we couldn't fully comprehend the long-term impact of 9/11 in those early days. But what I do know is that moments of crisis, of disruption, have a way of pushing us toward new realities, for better or for worse.

As I reflect today on those I lost - friends, colleagues, and acquaintances - and on the changes that unfolded as a result, I am reminded of the resilience of the human spirit. We adapt, we grieve, we grow, and ultimately, we move forward. And as we now stand at the brink of another era of significant change with AI, let us do so with the lessons of the past in mind. Let us not be blindsided by the challenges, but rather, let us be mindful of how every small shift contributes to the broader narrative of societal evolution.

I flew out of New York on the morning of September 10th, 2001, without a second thought. It was a random flight at a random time. It could just as easily have been the next day. That randomness is a reminder that life is unpredictable, and change - whether sudden or slow - is always just around the corner. What matters is how we respond, and how we choose to move forward together.

Written in memory of the victims of 9/11, with deep care for their families and loved ones, the heroes who gave their lives or risked their lives to save others, those lost in war, and the millions around the globe whose lives were forever changed by this attack.

#NeverForget #911Memorial #Resilience #SocietalChange #AITransformation