A Plain Memo
If you think the wealthy have a better AI, look again
The cliché says the wealthier you are, the better the AI you get. Go look — and the picture doesn't match.
What I found when I went looking for the wealthy's AI: they touch it less, not more. The leverage isn't a better model. It's having someone whose entire job is to run AI on their behalf — while the rest of us are the prompter, the reviewer, the babysitter, and the person doing the actual day job, all at once. This is what that asymmetry looks like inside JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citadel, and Citi's new "Sky" avatar — and what a working person can do about it.
ℹ️ AI voice disclosure: This episode uses an AI-generated voice (ElevenLabs). The host is a pseudonymous byline persona (Reid Conlin).
In this memo
Sources
- Wang et al., "Socioeconomic disparities in AI awareness, familiarity, and use," Information, Communication & Society (2026)
- Pew Research Center, "Key findings about how Americans view artificial intelligence" (March 2026)
- PwC, "2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer"
- Yotzov et al., NBER Working Paper w34836, "Firm Data on AI" (Feb 2026)
- JPMorgan "Coach AI" reporting, Reuters/AOL (May 2025)
- Morgan Stanley, "AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief" launch
- Citadel AI assistant for stockpickers (Dec 2025)
- Citi, "Citi Wealth unveils Citi Sky" press release (April 22, 2026)
- J.P. Morgan Private Bank, "2026 Global Family Office Report"