AI, AI, AI, oh my! 3 tips to turn the potential of AI into reality
Now is the time to test out AI and make it work for you. Here's how I got started and how you can too.
I use AI for almost everything definitely every day almost all the time.
In fact, last weekend, I was typing on my phone when my almost 7 year old daughter asked me, “Mommy, are you talking to ChatGPT?”
It caught me by surprise, but I was intrigued.
When I told her yes, she asked, “Can I talk to ChatGPT?”
I laughed and told her yes again, wondering where this was going.
Turns out ChatGPT is pretty good at turning a bunch of blah blah blah into something entertaining.
Later she asked me, “Mommy, doesn’t ChatGPT just do all your work for you?”
I grinned and said, “Yes!”
She gave me a judging look. (Wonder where she got that from….).
“It’s a good thing!” I protested. “It means I can spend more time doing other things.”
“Like spending time with me?”
“Of course.”
Any concerns about parenting in an AI age aside (and worth a deeper dive in another post), it is truly incredible what we are able to do with AI today. And I’m not just talking about creating poems.
Testing the AI waters
I was not an early adopter of AI. When ChatGPT emerged at the end of 2022, I observed the AI hype with amusement through LinkedIn posts and Reddit comments. Only after my husband insisted for the 15th time that I try ChatGPT did I finally try it out for myself.
I wrote about my initial experience with ChatGPT here, where I lightly prodded at its ability to talk about social issues, provide mental health support, and be creative. It reminded me of when Apple came out with those filters that squished your face into an hourglass. A superficial candy-sweet burst of fun, then back to the real world.
But I couldn’t ignore the constant barrage of AI hype news.
Slowly, I tested the waters. And not at work where coding was the clear use case, but in the privacy of my personal office working on my personal dreams.
My first real ask - automating a draining task
My first non-test practical use case for ChatGPT was for something I’d never done before: making a podcast.
I credit two good friends for inspiring me - Ronak Nathani and Guang Yang, who host a killer podcast called Software Misadventures. If you are interested in the people and stories behind the tech, definitely check them out.
I went through a daydream spree crafting my podcast vision. I planned my focus area, the format (likely a mix of reflections and interviews) and potential guests across data science, psychology, and industry. (If I ever do launch a podcast, I would love to introduce these many amazing individuals to you!).
Eager to begin recording, I started with writing an introduction, because any good podcast has to have a snappy hook-you-in intro.
The blank page filled with words. But then I hit a wall. No matter how much I tried to get my brain to smash words together into a quippy intro, the words would scatter.
So I figured - maybe now was a good time to try this newfangled whatchamacallit ChatGPT thing. After all refining and reworking a raw input seemed like a task ChatGPT was made to do. I fired up the OpenAI home page and brain dumped my podcast ideas into the conversation box.
I told ChatGPT not just to create an introduction, since the pieces I created were somewhat coherent, but very specifically to make 30-second and 60-second versions of an introduction.
I was astonished at what it produced.
The introductions were halfway decent, created in half a second, and more than enough of a start for me to build on.
I felt the hype of AI become a reality. Instead of spending time on mundane setup tasks that drain my energy, I could focus my time on creating meaningful content. Or more importantly, spending time with my kids!
Breakthroughs in how to work smarter send me into over-the-top giddy mode.
Unfortunately giddiness doesn’t create podcasts, and responsibilities and other projects burned hotter on my burners. The podcast idea went to the back of the shelf, but it’s not forgotten, especially now with so many AI tools to make it easier to create one.
Pandora’s box was calling, and I was ready to pick up the phone.
3 tips for turning the potential of AI into reality
Since then I’ve used ChatGPT for creating a business plan, a content strategy plan; updating my resume; doing mock interviews; preparing for conference speaking prep and tough conversations; therapy, coding, data analysis, learning about supply chain, proofreading, editing, and fashion advice. And the list continues to grow.
ChatGPT has become my Google, except it interacts with me and talks with about my specific examples. Whenever I’m looking for ideas or feedback or information, I’ll throw my questions into ChatGPT and get back a conversation.
But here’s the thing - AI requires attention and intention, and it will only work as well for you as you’re willing to work with it.
This means:
Do not take AI output unadulterated
I was using AI the other day to create a complicated SQL query for forecast analysis. For the 10th time, ChatGPT forgot a very simple SQL command, and I was getting frustrated. “WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?” I yelled at it.
Then I had a realization. As powerful as AI is at making connections, humans are too. Our brains have over 100 trillion synaptic connections. And we make mistakes all the time.
The beauty of AI is its many connections and the flexibility with which it can use those connections. But not all connections can fire on all cylinders at all times.
This experience helped me shift how I should treat AI - not as an always-perfect supertool, but as another source, like any other source (albeit a supersource), to draw on for my work.
But in the end, I am responsible for what I create, even if it is AI-enabled.
Use AI to enhance your unique you
One thing I noticed is that AI shaves off edges. It makes sense why. But this is where the human can shine through.
Peel back the layers on any model, and its goal is to find the best fit. Even AI. And in its simplest form, “best fit” is an average.
In practice, then, prediction means the most unique datapoints are going to get absorbed into the masses.
I see this when I work with ChatGPT as a proofreader and editor. In my writing, I purposely play around with words, and many times, AI will suggest I remove my quirky turns of phrases for “clarity”.
ChatGPT is not wrong that I’m wordy (something I constantly work on honing). Maybe if I took its feedback straight, I would have broader appeal (mmm think of all those likes…).
But my personality could be erased if I let it.
This is one reason why I explicitly tell AI NOT to rewrite my work. I am comfortable with using AI to create podcast intros based on my words. When it comes to my personal writing, like this newsletter, I intentionally do not use AI’s recommended wordings.
I am not special to AI, and I fully expect that the words and phrases it shares with me, it also feeds them to other writer. So if we collectively take AI’s suggestions straight out of the box, we will all slide toward the average.
And I want every word I write to represent me.
So the best way to be irreplaceable is to use AI as a foundation or a guide. Then, be intentional about maintaining the beautiful uniquely-you details and experiences that an AI will never be able to completely replicate.
Just start experimenting with AI
I can share examples all day, but until you try using AI with your own specific situations and needs, its usefulness for you will only be theoretical.
Talking to AI requires a different style of communication than talking to a computer or person, so it takes practice to figure out which prompts work best for the task you want accomplished.
“Be clear and specific but also flexible and open”. This is the best advice I can give you right now (until I write a post or create a course on “How to get AI to do what you want”. In fact, if this is something you’d be interested in, please let me know!).
For now, the best way to use this vague advice is test using AI yourself. Experiment with different prompts and see which ones enable AI to turn your ideas into something tangible. The potential is certainly there. It’s up to you to reach for it.
Don’t leave the shaping of AI to the tech bros
I know it can be daunting to step into this developing world of AI. Ideas and beliefs bombard us every day about the impact of AI range from everything-changing to dystopian. It’s hard to know where to start or sometimes even have the willingness to start.
But if my 7 year old daughter can test it, so can you.
Don’t leave the creation of AI to the tech bros. So much of our current world has already been built by them. They had highly specialized skills that allowed them to do that, but it no longer has to be that way.
AI is so easy for any person to use, even as a beginner. Put yourself in the driver’s seat and test it for your unique use cases. Shape it into what you want it to be, then use it to fast-track achieving goals you’ve always wanted to achieve and develop the world you want to see.
How about you?
What have your experiences been with AI? What are tasks you’d like to use it for or have been using it for? And what would it look like if you used AI to help you unlock your highest potential?
As a leadership coach, I partner with individuals who want to achieve personal and professional balance and fulfillment through growth and resilience. Learn more about my coaching here. If you are interested in working with me 1:1 to explore how you can create your best life, please leave a comment or send me a note at the link below!