You Don’t Need to Be an Expert to Benefit from AI
If the hype around AI makes you cringe, you’re not alone. But the people who question the noise might just be the ones who can use it best.
By Jerry Grundman
AI will save time.
AI will take your job.
AI will write your emails, plan your meals, and make you obsolete by next Tuesday.
And if you’re feeling cynical, you’re not wrong to be skeptical.
Because most of the noise around AI is just that – noise.
It’s hype. Hustle. Over-promises dressed up as innovation.
It’s people chasing efficiency without asking whether the output is actually better or just faster.
So if you’ve been rolling your eyes at all the breathless AI content, I get it.
But underneath all that noise, there’s something real. Something useful.
And no one is better positioned to find it than someone like you – the thoughtful, discerning ones who don’t take every shiny tool at face value.
AI Isn’t About Replacing Thought
The version of AI that’s worth paying attention to isn’t here to replace thinking.
It’s here to support it.
To help you:
untangle a hard-to-write paragraph
organize thoughts that feel too big to get down on paper
ask better questions of yourself or your work
And to do it without stripping away your voice, your judgment, or your standards.
If you value craft, clarity, or meaning – AI can help you protect that.
Not by doing the work for you, but by helping you move through resistance.
It’s Not a Shortcut. It’s a Mirror.
The way I use AI in my own work doesn’t feel flashy. It feels grounding.
I use it to:
get unstuck or gain clarity on obstacles
draft a first version I can react to
think through options when my head is too cluttered
And every time I do, it’s my voice that shapes the outcome. Not the machine’s.
That’s the piece so many cynics miss.
AI is only as shallow as the way it’s used.
If all you ask it for is output, you’ll get output.
But if you ask it to help you reflect, clarify, or create from your own perspective – it will meet you right there.
The Real Waste Isn’t AI. It’s Dismissing It.
You don’t have to fall in love with the tech.
You just have to stay open to tools that can serve your thinking instead of short-circuiting it.
You already know how to think critically.
That’s why you’re skeptical.
But what if you used that same discernment to explore what AI could actually do for you?
Not to jump on a bandwagon.
Just to move through your day with a little less friction.
That’s not hype.
That’s just practical.
