AI Advantage #1: Practical Ways to Augment Your Work with AI
Because the world needs another AI podcast.
In this first episode of the AI Advantage on the Microsoft Innovation Podcast Mark and I discuss why we created the show and the skills we’re learning to be future-ready in our careers.
We talk about:
How to move from fear to curiosity, then to confident practice
Why skills beat theory, hype, and hot takes
Ways to use AI as a thought partner, not a shortcut
Practical prompting ideas you can try today
How to join a safe, supportive community of learners
From fear to curiosity
AI is already changing how we work, but it can be overwhelming to try and keep up with the constantly changing capabilities and recommendations for how to best use it. We are being asked to build on shifting ground, and we’re keen to do what we can do make sure that the AI Advantage is available to everyone.
When I think about the intelligence age, I see a shift from expertise to adaptability. It’s no longer enough to master one domain and stay there. With the world changing around us, standing still is going backwards. We all need to develop the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
For me tapping into curiosity has been the antidote to the fear I felt when I first saw generative AI at work.
I’ve learned that being comfortable with change is now a core professional skill.
My comfort with change has grown as I have been able to stack positive learning experiences. That’s come from regularly using generative AI in my daily work. I started with an arbitrary goal to use Copilot at least once a day. Now it’s a habit to start tasks with thinking about how I can use AI to help me.
Try this prompt
When using AI to help you with your work it’s important to avoid over-reliance on the outputs. One way to remain the thought leader and have AI be your thought partner is to start with your ideas first. Try this next time you’re working on a project:
Let's play 20 questions.
Interview me about [insert topic] and then create a cohesive summary in the form of [desired output] of all my answers so I can use if for [outline your goal or purpose].
Please start with your first question
I used this technique when writing this blog about traveling in Europe. Instead of asking Copilot to draft an article for me and then trying to inject my ideas into it afterwards, I started with my stories in my own language.
The output sounds like me because it was based on my own words and experiences. This time Copilot was prompting me to remember, rather than me prompting it to generate the story.
Don't use generative AI to think for you. Use it to draw out your ideas.
You can listen to or watch the full episode here.
