As a young man in the 1990s, I could play Civilization until the wee hours of the night turned into the early morning.
Using an AI to write code can feel eerily similar. That wonderful feeling of being productive, being useful, and the sense of satisfaction one feels from giving direction and building an “empire.”
One can start to feel quite important!
After using AI for a while you realize it can easily be more like a game of Minecraft or something, and the goals that should have been achieved through the use of AI are always within reach but never achieved.
For example, I think Duolingo is a fantastic product. But as a Duolingo user I spent years nurturing my Duolingo streak very happily and addictively, yet never learned to truly speak Spanish. I never achieved my primary goal.
To make AI useful, you start with a conversation, and definitely not a conversation with the AI. Talk to a friend who can really push back, or talk to a user, or a customer, or a participant, or to whomever you think you are building or doing something for. Share your ideas and then listen. Be open, and be ready for the feeling you’ll feel when you hear the other person state what they are thinking, and what they see as important, and it clashes with what you think.
Being your own first customer is obvious, but that’s not enough if you envision selling whatever it is you’re creating.
The other person to talk to is yourself, without the AI intermediating the interaction. Look in the mirror and talk to yourself and understand, you know, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? How does this fit into my life, into what I’m trying to achieve or what I hope will be the outcome of my efforts, whether it be a steady salary, to change the world, or something in between.
AI is a powerful tool that can be carefully woven into many facets of most work these days, but beware of the entertainment trap. It needs good context and a firm hand, and then you get the best results.