Photo courtesy of Kristina Martinelli Kristina Martinelli was laid off at 55 and immediately launched her own AI consultancy. She avoided returning to corporate, feeling her expertise was being replaced by AI. Martinelli shared which tool helped her build her sidekick and launch quickly. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with small-business-owner Kristina Martinelli, a 56-year-old AI consultant who formerly worked a corporate job. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Getting displaced at 55 years old caught me completely off guard. I had just spent two years at a Midwest bank as a portfolio manager executive and had decades of experience in corporate technology when I was let go from my job.…