Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools are growing in use and there's no denying their efficiency in helping humans streamline work processes. But, AI has limitations (see box below). While AI can empower us to learn and enhance our metacognition and communication skills, mastering AI takes intentional effort. These tools do not THINK nor should we rely on them to carry out our work - YOU are the architect with the deeper understanding of what you need to accomplish! YOU have the power to think critically about AI outputs and maintain authority.
Follow these tips to use AI to advance your personal and professional goals:
1. Gain a solid understanding of how AI can help you. Use AI to explore these general ways AI can help you:
Describe a situation or phenomenon.
Explain why something is happening.
Explore a new idea or topic.
Compare differences.
Predict what might happen in the future.
Evaluate the effectiveness of a solution.
2. Move beyond basic prompts and develop and practice AI prompt engineering. Review responses that may seem vague or unfocused and consider how you can re-define the responses with more specific prompts and an interactive dialogue. Do your background research so you have a general idea of what you are looking at and progress to more complex prompts!
3. ALWAYS verify sources and information provided through AI! Seek original sources.