In a world that encourages the depreciation of thought, be someone who pioneers its encouragement.

I used to struggle with Excel so much it sort of became a fear.

People would generally call me confident, but if you wanted to see me freeze, you could hand me a spreadsheet and ask me to analyse a dataset. Using SPSS was technically part of my degree but I somehow managed to avoid it. But when you enter the corporate world, analysing data not only catches up to you, but it runs towards you.

Recently, I’ve been working with XLOOKUPs to compare large datasets and find insights to improve our processes. Thankfully, there are people around me who give me the time to work through this, and I really appreciate them. I also put in the extra hours to really understand things.

But then, my company recently developed an AI tool that could do it all for me. So I thought ‘let me just try it and see what it does’. After 15 mins, it gave me exactly what I needed. ‘Great!’ one might think, but for me this was alarming. The fact it took 15 mins to do what, granted, would’ve taken me longer, but would’ve given me the opportunity to develop new neural pathways, was concerning to me. It created a sense of urgency - a reminder that I need to know how to do it myself.

If you’re only as smart as the tool provided to you, you’re not smart enough. I need to know how to do what the tool did for me first - then use the tool for efficiency, not creation.

That’s the thing with AI. You should be smarter than it. It should enhance your thinking - not replace it. Or in my case, be the creation of it.

I use generative AI to discuss thoughts and unpack concepts, but that’s because I’ve developed the metacognition for the things I use it for. I know how to ask questions in ways that aren’t leading, therefore minimising it’s agreeableness, and having better discernment to detect it even when it does bias its response.

There’s beauty in AI. But as with all beauty, it starts with you - otherwise, it’s baseless.

Learn to think. Don’t stop thinking. In a world that encourages the depreciation of thought, be someone who pioneers its encouragement. Force yourself to learn. Force yourself to speak. Force yourself to listen. Force yourself to think.

The mind and the brain are the most powerful things. Don’t lose your power to the world.