Don’t Let ChatGPT Turn You Into A Tool

The worst way to use AI is before you’ve done any thinking.

When you see “Thinking…” in an AI app, it should make you a little uncomfortable.

You should pause and ask yourself:

“Should I be doing the thinking here?”

If you’re writing something, do a first draft without AI. Edit once–still without AI. Only then should you ask AI to review it and help plug any holes. Make AI your thinking partner. Don’t just copy and paste AI-generated suggestions. Pick and choose which AI feedback you keep or which you ignore.

When coding, write specs or diagram the system architecture before you start vibe coding the experience. Use autocomplete for the rote stuff. And always manually review every line of code. The hard part is rarely the code; it’s the thinking that went into the architecture and systems logic.

The same applies for creating images, videos, strategic plans, or anything else you would use AI for.

You don’t want to deskill yourself by letting AI do all the thinking.

AI should be a multiplier.

It should complement you—not replace you and dumb you down.