Embracing a Human-Centered Approach (2)

Two core motivations fuel my mission to help people Think with AI. First, I have witnessed how those who skillfully and ethically harness the immense potential of these tools can achieve new levels of performance and creativity—and I believe this capability should be available to all of us, not restricted to a relative few. Second, the responsible evolution of AI technology demands diverse perspectives to effectively mitigate its inherent risks—and that starts with a broader spectrum of individuals gaining substantive experience with AI, understanding both its remarkable value and its complex challenges.

My hope is to make it possible for more people to responsibly tap into this power.

Overcoming Barriers Between You and Value

AI is unlike anything we’ve experienced before. It is nothing like the software we’ve used for years. We’ve never had apps or websites that interact with us as AI does. And yet, there are no instruction guides or manuals. It is just thrown at us. We are expected to figure out on our own what to do with it. And believe me, this is a discovery process full of trial and error.

Grassroots communities of early adopters have sprung up everywhere online. They are passionately swapping ideas, sharing experiences, and learning together—and seemingly never sleep in their quest to keep up with the rapidly shifting world of AI.

But for most, navigating through all the noise, voices, and conflicting views in this strange and ambiguous world of AI is overwhelming, especially when we’re already facing the pressing responsibilities and everyday demands of our modern lives. Even if we suspect AI could be valuable, it’s just too hard to prioritize the time to dig in and figure out how to get there.

I repeatedly see three key hurdles that most commonly keep people from finding value in the technology:

They’re not sure how to start.They may find the tech interesting, and may have played with it, but don’t know how to transition from these early experiments to finding real value.

They’re confused by extreme narratives.We are all getting caught between two polarized messages: that we need to slow AI innovation because it presents an extinction risk to humanity, and that we need to accelerate AI innovation to help us fight the wicked, complicated problems our world faces. While no one knows what will happen—the reality is likely to end up somewhere in between—when extreme messages hit the headlines, they can deter people from exploring how these tools can bring value to their daily lives.

They’re overwhelmed by the speed of change.The pace of change in this space, which is stunning even for AI experts, is leading to “FONKU”: Fear of Not Keeping Up. FONKU can make us feel so overwhelmed that we don’t know where to jump in or we do not engage at all.

This book will help you overcome these barriers so you can stop relying on secondhand knowledge and learn how to make AI work for you. By the time you finish these pages, AI won’t be some distant, intimidating technology. You’ll have a powerful ally at your side—always on, ready to assist when you feel stuck or limited by your knowledge or capabilities or to propel you to new levels of creativity and performance.

Let’s jump in!

iThe term AIQ was originally used to refer to AI’s abilities but has more recently been used to refer to an organization’s readiness and capability to leverage AI. Several analysts and consulting firms have developed frameworks to assess an organization’s AIQ, which involves factors from data readiness to governance and ethics processes. What we are talking about here is much more straightforward: personal AIQ is a measurement about how well you leverage AI to boost your personal performance.

3. How to Use This Book

I’ve designed this book with a single goal: to make your journey into AI both accessible and immediately valuable. There are three parts.

Part One, Beyond Human Cognition:Discover how AI can boost your creativity and brain power—while staying true to your human strengths.

Part Two, Decoding Change:See why AI will reshape our world—and why you can’t afford to wait to tap into its capabilities.

Part Three, Thinking 2.0: Get a proven, step-by-step approach to making AI serve your unique needs.

The guidance I provide will be helpful whether you are exploring how to use AI in your personal life, in your professional life, or as a team.

I included this chapter to give you some guidance on how to get the most out of this book. My goal to make the immensely complex world of AI accessible to more people led to three key design choices for this book:

Pair the book with a website to provide fresh updates.The speed of AI advancement demanded a unique solution: while this book provides your foundation, I’ve created a companion website (ThinkwithAI.org) that continues to evolve. While you will find foundational knowledge and frameworks in these pages, the website offers a curated collection of resources—not just my own, but also valuable insights and perspectives from others in the space. By making the website freely available to everyone, I hope to promote wider familiarity and understanding of the new capabilities AI tools offer us all.