As a brief detour from our usual Grammar Guru content, we’ve decided to turn our attention to an even more inescapable topic than misplaced apostrophes: artificial intelligence. Over the next few months, I’ll discuss different aspects of AI’s remarkable capabilities and its significant limitations. Maybe you’re already using AI to assist at work or home. Perhaps you’re concerned about it replacing human jobs. Maybe you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. This series is for everyone.
For this series, I want you to feel like you’re grabbing coffee with your AI-obsessed friend who is loving, but firm on one point: The time to understand and talk about this is now.
Here’s my guide to AI basics — AI 101, if you will — including four sections: what it is, why you should care, how it’s being used, and examples of how AI can make YOUR daily life easier. Watch below, and read along!
What is AI?
AI, or artificial intelligence, is a general term for the vast technology domain that creates computer systems or software that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence.
These tasks can range from recognizing speech, making decisions, translating languages, navigating the physical world, and identifying patterns in data. AI aims to make machines smart enough to handle complex tasks, helping humans immeasurably. It’s not just a few tech companies leading this charge. Hundreds, if not thousands, are figuring out ways to AI-enhance every aspect of life.
Why should you care about AI?
I implore you to view AI as an exciting set of tools that can — when used smartly and adeptly — augment human productivity, creativity, health, and safety. AI is exciting, complex, and getting more capable by the second. It’s imperative to get on board to work WITH it, not resist it. And to understand how it can work FOR us, not replace us.
AI is already improving your life, whether you know it or not. Here are some widely adopted uses of AI that I am calling passive uses. They’re “passive” in that we don’t even think about them anymore; we know they’re there and available to us. Most of these come standard on phones, computers, cars, and other “smart” devices.
- When you open your phone with FaceID
- When you browse your Netflix recommendations
- When your fitness tracker suggests a 9 p.m. bedtime
- When Waze tells you how to avoid traffic
- When you get an eerily spot-on ad for a product you’ve been wanting
- When you ask Siri or Alexa for the weather forecast
- When Google predicts the rest of your weird medical question
- When you chat with a customer service support bot about a missing package
Are you getting the gist of how widespread AI is? It’s everywhere. But the above list is only the beginning. Most of what AI can do has yet to be revealed, and humans are still in the “early adoption” stage. Its potential is limitless.
Do you know how AI is changing these facets of life?
Here are some topics and related AI endeavors you might not know about yet. We’ll dive deeper into some of these topics later in the series.
Healthcare
AI algorithms use imaging data to diagnose diseases earlier and more accurately. It can also analyze individual health data to tailor treatments specific to a specific person. During surgery, robotics and AI are getting so precise that recovery times and outcomes are improving.
Finance
Robo-investor models are becoming increasingly skilled at assessing risk and making fast trading decisions based on market trends. AI can detect fraud better and faster by analyzing unusual patterns in your accounts, and it can provide personalized budgeting tools. Credit scoring is more accurate and dynamic thanks to AI’s analysis of broader data points.
Writing
AI can help you write more concise emails, create a more effective presentation, or outline a document when you feel stuck. It’s getting skilled at polishing grammar and spelling, dialing in tone and style, and detecting plagiarism. There will never be a replacement for human thinking and analytic/creative writing, but there are many ways AI can help.
Shopping
You likely already know that AI can find and recommend products for you based on browsing and purchase history. (OK, it may be a little TOO good at this.) With virtual “try-ons,” you can see how something looks on your body or in your home. Reverse image searching helps you find similar items. AI-powered chatbots work around the clock to resolve issues, provide basic customer service, and answer questions.
Home Life
More and more homes are getting “smarter” by letting AI learn our habits, make heating and cooling more energy efficient, tighten security measures, and create perfect mood lighting in every room. Devices like Alexa can act as virtual assistants who create to-do lists, set reminders, and tell you when to leave for work based on traffic. AI offers simple life improvements to make your household happier.
There are so many ways to use AI to make your everyday life easier! Here’s your homework.
I highly recommend that any AI-curious folks create an account and start interacting with generative AI software like ChatGPT (by OpenAI), Gemini (by Google), Claude (by Anthropic), or Copilot (by Microsoft). Many are free, but the paid options offer more robust experience. ChatGPT4 is my recommendation, as it can do A LOT for the $ 20-a-month price tag.
While using any of the leading AI platforms, think of it as a genius assistant who’s willing and ready to take on any project or task for you — no matter how mundane. Think of it as an expert in anything and everything you can think of. Then, tell the platform what you need.
For example, “I need you to be a meal prep expert for dinner parties with specific expertise in recipes that can be prepped ahead of time, are easy to make, and have a high visual impact. Do you understand?” Proper prompting is important to get the best results. Be conversational and specific. Go crazy asking it to help you! Trial and error is the way to get better at prompting. Here are some ideas.
Example 1: Ask it to come up with a salad for your dinner party.
Tell it the time of year and your location. Tell it any preferences or restrictions. You could even tell it the ingredients you have on hand. If you don’t like what you see at first, give it feedback as to why you didn’t like it. For example, tell it to skip the strawberries and create one with avocado instead.
Once you’re happy with the recipe, you’ll have step-by-step instructions and a shopping list without opening a cookbook or Googling through tiresome backstories of bloggers’ recipes.
Example #2: Have it help you plan the perfect trip.
Someone on our team recently used ChatGPT4 to help plan a mother-daughter hiking trip out West. She told it how long they had, and when they were traveling. She said she still loves long hikes despite slight constraints on elevation change with her knees. ChatGPT helped her rule out some areas that weren’t right for them.
Now, she’s going to Bryce Canyon and Lake Powell with her daughter. AND she has a detailed itinerary from the Vegas airport to Bryce Canyon, complete with many shorter hikes and places to explore and eat the whole way there.
Example #3: Are you thinking about starting a vegetable garden?
Prompt it to be your gardening expert. Tell it where you live, what type of sun/shade you have, and what you’d ideally like to plant in your garden. Once you start the conversation, keep prodding the chat to give you more specific information about how to plant, water, and care for your garden. You may just end up with your favorite vegetable season yet!
Hope you learned some AI basics! Send [email protected] all your burning AI questions, and I’ll see you next month!
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