If you haven’t tried the AI tools available online, what are you waiting for? There are so many ways these incredible tools can help us, whether you are a young adult just figuring life out, a seasoned careerist who could benefit from some delegation or a retired grandmother looking to master a new skill or simply figure out Medicare. AI is here—but don’t just get used to it, get juiced by it.
I feel late to the AI party. However, even as a kid in the 1980s every time I had to use Wite-Out or tediously retype (on a typewriter!) a college paper I would think to myself, “Someday I will be able to just speak into a microphone and a near-perfect document would be created that be printed immediately.” I was about 40 years off. I could have used all that extra time in college I spent retyping to take afternoon naps so that I could stay up late “tasting” Pinot Noirs.
In the last several months I have been using AI almost every day. I have designed logos, stationary and an egg carton label using ChatGBT. I have generated many, many documents using Claude.com. I created the most complete, well-laid out budget of my life. AI even gave me a six-week plan for quitting caffeine (week one went great, but I fell off the wagon week two). I started realizing that there was not much AI couldn’t help me to plan or achieve.
The reason I’m so enthusiastic about AI is that I am not worried about losing my job, losing my cognitive sharpness or losing contact with real people. Sure, AI can mimic my voice and I’m sure write this column if I asked it to. I’m such a fan of the Em-dash, one of the signs AI has written something, that people probably already think it does. But I’m confident that when using AI, I am the driver, it is the car. I am the conductor, it is the instrument. I am the thought leader, and the creative thinking I’ve been doing to get AI to provide just what I need has been more exciting than much of the project planning I used to do either analog or with basic tech tools.
Part of the excitement comes from the fact that I know I’m going to be getting fast, excellent results. As I wrote in my last column (on Procrastination), expectations are a huge part of motivation. Having high expectations (based on experience) with AI motivates me to keep going with tasks I know it can help me with and keep exploring new and creative ways to use it.
One area I haven’t been playing with and want to is the idea of an AI agent. The agent takes repetitive tasks off your plate and automates them. I spend a lot of time on my computer and phone doing tasks that should have been automated years ago but I was too lazy to figure it out.
The entertaining and well-spoken author of The AI Driven Leader, Geoff Woods, recommends using the CRIT model (Context, Role, Interview, Task) to get the best results from AI. Give it plenty of context. Assign it a role. Let AI ask you questions (Interview); remain the thought leader and don’t just ask it questions. Lastly, assign it a task, which is what you would like the finished project to be.
There is definitely some scary stuff about AI, but there’s scary stuff about the weather, air travel, iceburg lettuce and other people. I’m choosing to embrace the possibilities and use AI to improve my life. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I bet you will be amazed at how it can help you not just feel but be more organized, productive and maybe even creative.
Note: You might have noticed that one vowel and one consonant has changed in my byline. I decided to make this year about two things: lightening up (literally and metaphorically) and identity. Changing my name was a big symbolic shift I’ve wanted to make since early 2020. I finally braved the lines at the County Clerk’s office (there were none) and downtown Napa parking (also a phantom problem, go figure) to make it a reality. A couple thousand dollars and copious official documents later, I feel lighter and more “on purpose.” As writer (and inspiration for my new name) Aldous Huxley might say, it’s a Brave New World.