How to Beat AI Thinkism, Part 2

Ten minutes, zero dollars, unlimited creativity.

Here’s part one on Thinkism.

To thrive with AI, you must try AI. Yet 99% of us suffer from what Kevin Kelly calls Thinkism: thinking too much and trying too little. But if you want to succeed in the coming AI age, you’ve got to grok it. The good news is that starting with AI takes just 10 minutes.

And the more profound news is although it takes a lifetime to master AI, it’s a lot of fun and one of the best things you can do for your career.

Here are two ways to get started.

Option 1: AI Image Cocreation

Think about an idea you want to share—a presentation, an email, or social media post you want to send. For example, I’m trying to convey in this post that humans and AI are partners.

Next, think of an artist you like, like Andy Warhol.

Then, log in to Midjourney or DALL-E and play with prompts. Try something like this first:

A writer and a robot in the style of Andy Warhol.

Your first result will probably disappoint. But here’s the secret: if you keep trying new prompts, new switches, and new tools, eventually, you might find something you love. As poet Ross Gay says, “I keep writing until I surprise myself. Then I know I’ve got something.” Working with generative AI is no different.

Eventually, I got this:

Made with the Midjourney prompt: “A human writer and a robot at a table with bright pink and orange, together, in the style of Andy Warhol —ar 16:9"

This image surprised me. It’s cool and colorful; I like it. But looking deeper, it’s provocative and tells the story I want to tell—it has a calm sense of contemplation and rapport between the two. The robot is friendly. The man is thinking.

And wait —is that robot drinking motor oil?

Option 2: Learn Like Dolphin

I love TED speaker Adam El Rafey’s description of how he learns: “I pick a topic, look around, find a good resource to read or watch, and dive in. Then, I jump up, look for another source, and dive in again. Like a dolphin.”

AI is a great partner for dolphin learning: that is, open ChatGPT, Bing, or whatever AI tool you prefer. Ask a question, but add this to your prompt: “Cite sources, please.” Read them. Return to the ChatGPT and ask another question.

Read, dive, read, dive. That’s dolphin learning.

But I like this exercise because, along the way, you’ll discover the power and limitations of AI. Sometimes, like image generation, you’ll be surprised at how good AI is. Often, the results will be bad or just boring. Sometimes, as these lawyers found when they used AI to write a legal brief, AI makes up stuff that doesn’t exist.

Using AI to do research shows you that it’s not intelligent… it’s just a good guesser. It’s an assistant, not sentient. The intelligence lies in you: the question-creation, judging, refining, adjusting, thinking, trying, and selecting from among the guesses AI makes.

The Trick is the Trying, Not the Tool

Remember, with AI, the trick is in the trying, not the tool. AI can be a liar, inspired, biased, bland, and bold. It’s up to you to choose which is which. So, if you want to thrive in the AI age, remember this: Don't be a thinkist —try. Who knows, maybe you'll create a Warhol-inspired AI masterpiece, like my robot drinking motor oil :)