Ahead with AI #1: Voice cloning, kids’ storybooks, and more
Apply AI in 5 minutes every Sunday: 3 prompts, 2 ways to use AI, 1 key insight
Stay ahead of the curve by turning AI from something you read about into something you use.
In today’s Ahead with AI:
Prompt: get personalized book + movie recs that match your interests
Prompt: explore a business decision from both the safest and riskiest path
Prompt: pressure-test your thinking with an antithesis drill
How to: Clone your voice with ElevenLabs
How to: Create storybooks with Gemini
Key insight: Tricks to keep GPT-5 in reasoning mode
3 prompts to kick off your week
There are endless ways to use AI, but many of them slip by because we never think to ask. Here are three to try this week with your favorite model. Add your own context so the answers are useful.
I. For you: Books and Movie Recommendations
Based on everything you know about me from your memory and our past conversations, recommend three books and three movies I should read or watch.
Make sure the suggestions connect to my professional interests, my personal values, and recurring themes in my life and work.
For each suggestion, explain briefly why it fits me, what I might discover about myself through it, and how it could expand my perspective at this stage.
II. For work: Conservative vs High-Risk Strategy
I want to explore a business decision in two contrasting ways: one ultra-conservative, where the goal is to minimize all risk even if progress is slow, and one high-risk, high-reward, where the goal is maximum upside even if failure is likely.
The decision is: [insert decision context]
Show me how both could be run in parallel: what steps I’d need to take, what resources I’d allocate differently, and what signals I should monitor to know when to commit fully to one path.
Present this as a structured side-by-side comparison (pros, cons, tipping points) that I can use as a decision framework.
III. For perspective: Antithesis Drill
Give me the sharpest, most convincing argument against [insert argument / idea]. Don’t hold back, make it strong enough that I’d have to take it seriously.
Then, take both sides, the original idea and the pushback, and show me how they could be woven together into a more balanced approach I could actually use in real life.
2 ways to put AI to use
AI isn’t measured by what it promises, but by what it does. Here are two ways you can put it to work this week.
I. Clone your voice with ElevenLabs
This guide shows you how to create a digital clone of your voice using ElevenLabs’ Instant Voice Cloning feature.
How it works:
Sign up or log in to ElevenLabs, then open the Voices section from the left menu.
Go to My Voices, and click Create a voice.
In the modal, choose Instant Voice Cloning.
Record yourself in the platform or upload an existing audio file, speaking in a quiet space for 1–2 minutes.
Name and save your voice clone.
Try out your new voice clone. Enter any text, hit Generate speech, then adjust settings like speed, stability, similarity, or style exaggeration.
To use it later, go to My Voices and click Use on the voice you created.
Listen, refine, and download your voice clone.
Where it’s useful:
Recording videos or tutorials without re-recording your voice each time.
Creating audiobooks, podcasts, or narration while saving hours of effort.
Producing ads, social media content, courses, or product explainers in your own voice without extra recording sessions.
Estimated time:
5–10 minutes
Cost:
$5/month (Starter plan, required for Instant Voice Cloning)
II. Create a Storybook using Gemini
This guide shows you how to make your own children’s storybook with Gemini.
How it works:
Log in or sign up to Gemini, then open the Storybook gem from the left menu.
Enter a prompt describing the storybook you want to create, then press enter.
Wait for Gemini to generate your storybook.
Once it’s ready, you can:
💡Good to know: You can even upload photos of your family, pets, or a favorite place, and Gemini will turn them into a story with matching illustrations. It also works in other languages, just write your prompt in the one you want.
Where it’s useful:
Create personalized stories for your kids to explain complex ideas, help them cope with everyday challenges, or make learning new things fun.
Make unique gifts for friends, family, or loved ones.
Generate classroom or workshop materials for teachers, parents, or coaches who need tailored stories for learning moments.
Estimated time:
5 minutes
Cost:
Free plan available (with limitations)
1 key insight
One idea, lesson, or finding I found useful (or thought-provoking) enough to share.
I. Get GPT-5 to stay in reasoning mode
To get GPT-5 to stick with the reasoning model instead of the fast one, here’s a few tricks that work well:
Structure instructions: “Work step by step: 1) absorb context 2) list options 3) compare 4) decide.”
Ask it to pause before answering: “Plan your approach first. Do not answer until you have a plan.”
Force critical analysis: “Evaluate critically against clear criteria: time, cost, risk, impact [swap in your criteria].”
Add a self-check: “Before the final answer, check for errors, missing assumptions, or weak spots. Revise if needed to improve accuracy and relevance to the task.”
Your turn
Tried any of these (or something else with AI) this week?
Hit reply or drop a comment to share how you used it. I love hearing how you’re putting this into practice.
PS: I might feature your example in a future issue.
From the notebook
In case you missed these, here are a few of my recent deep dives:
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Just found this... loved the prompts and the Insight was spot-on. Will check out the other parts next.
It’s been a while since I had the time to sit down and read something on Substack, this was a great one to come back to.
I’m still holding back on voice cloning because of security concerns (there are already scams impersonating real voices), but I loved the part on personalized stories. This isn’t just for kids. It feels like a revolution for how we all could learn in a deeply personalized way. I’d love to see more exploration of how this can transform adult learning!