My first real use of generative AI was to plan a trivia night for my friends. Not only did ChatGPT save me from hours of work, but it also gave me personalized questions based on the information I gave it. Furthermore, I used it to make a PowerPoint presentation in a jeopardy game show-like format with over 30 slides. It gave me questions with varying difficulty, themes, tones, and styles to keep the game night fun but not too easy. I have also used Dall-E to help a friend design marketing graphics for their bagel start-up. I am not a very artistic person, but this helped curate my ideas into figures. It only took some short prompts and a few seconds, and I was delivered multiple mockups. This made me realise that generative AI tools have helped me do more with less.
The most helpful generative AI tool for me has been NotebookLM. I attach my lecture notes, readings, and personal notes to convert them into podcasts. It is quick, and it helps me review concepts even while commuting. I believe that I learn better while listening than while reading. So, NotebookLM has definitely been my saving grace while studying for exams.
Yet, I wonder whether I am learning or just consuming what the AI tool decides is important. Across these experiences, I have felt both smarter and dependent. I believe that generative AI improves my ideas and productivity, but it also reduces the natural creativity aspect of being human. By this I mean experiences such as brainstorming, reflecting, discovering, writing, etc. I realize the solution is not rejecting AI completely, but rather using it consciously. Hence, I use generative AI tools as my co-pilot, who helps me navigate through the proccess more efficently rather than it being my captain.
I had a similar “wow this is way more powerful than I expected” moment, but mine was in coding (my hobby), not trivia night. The first time I used AI heavily was to help debug a messy data-cleaning script, and it felt like cheating. It handled the busy work so fast that I started worrying I was outsourcing the thinking, not just the labor. Your point about learning vs. consuming also really resonates. GenAI might save a lot of time, but the concern about not learning as much is also valid. Building on your co-pilot metaphor, I think the only way to stay the captain is to occasionally fly without autopilot.