This is a great introduction to AI and invites us to reflect about its future.
I agree that: Understanding AI isn't optional anymore. It's becoming a fundamental skill, a kind of superpower, that can help you navigate, adapt, and thrive in the future economy.
And I'm personally more excited than cautious about the future of AI.
Really appreciate you taking the time to read and share your thoughts. I’m with you, there’s so much potential here, and being proactive about understanding it is essential.
You've broken down the puzzle into bite sized bits. I've learned more about AI through this one post than all the resources I've read so far. I'm intrigued by AI. So this fits in perfectly. Thanks, Daria.😉
I had a similar moment few years ago, using AI daily, impressed by what it could do, but unable to explain how it actually worked. That gap felt small until I had to talk about it, then it hit hard. Like you said: admiring AI isn’t enough. Understanding it is what makes the difference between just keeping up and truly building with it.
You hit on a key point here when you talked about showing the AI examples. A lot of the time when you don’t get the output you wanted from Chat-or Claude, or whatever your preferred AI pal is these days- it is because you forgot the example. When I worked in education, showing an example was a sure fire way to “model” to students what we meant. When we wanted creativity, we skipped the example. So, if you want a vert creative output, skip the example.
It is the perfect soil in which to grow paranoid fantasies of everything we can’t control…and it’s an exciting adventure where we test our ability to adapt and, after discovering what it is, use our human edge to transcend.
Loved how this framed AI as a mirror instead of a myth. It’s not about replacing the writer, it’s about reflecting just enough light to find your voice in the dark.
This is a really thoughtful breakdown of where AI stands today. You use the word "reshaped" a few times, and I think that's the perfect description of what's happening. I follow professional chess and I've seen the exact same thing happen there.
Over the past decade or so, chess computers have become so powerful that they've completely altered how the game is played. The change in chess seems to be the exact pattern you're describing. We're seeing AI capabilities become the new benchmarks that define excellence across domains. Companies now ask "do we need a human for this?" rather than "how can we make humans more effective?"
I explored this dynamic and its broader implications in an essay (devingalloway.substack.com/p/stockfish-swap) about how what happened in chess might give us a preview of what will happen in other areas as AI continues advancing.
Your point about being "early" is crucial for navigating these shifts intentionally.
Great analogy you did here with chess. I guess AI has now reached a point where it’s reshaping everything around us (slowly... or not so slowly). I think both companies and individuals should be looking at how to make people more effective.
Thank you for sharing your piece, really looking forward to reading it.
Your point about effectiveness rather than competition resonates deeply. What I find most promising are the examples where people learn to work *with* the new standards rather than simply submit to them.
The risk, as I see it, is when we become passive recipients of machine-generated standards rather than active collaborators in defining what effectiveness actually means.
I so agree with this, Devin! I’ve seen it play out in my own work too. We’re lazy creatures (well… our brains are) and always looking for shortcuts, so it’s easy to slip into that passive mode. That’s why I think education on how to use AI properly is so essential right now, especially as it becomes more and more mainstream.
The evolution of AI from Turing's theoretical questions to today's generative tools mirrors what I've observed in the digital commerce landscape - we've moved through similar phases of narrow applications to increasingly sophisticated systems. What's particularly interesting is how AI adoption follows the same pattern we saw with e-commerce platforms - skepticism, early adoption by tech-forward companies, and eventually mainstream implementation.
Having spent years integrating digital systems across marketing and e-commerce environments, I recognize that moment of panic the author describes - using tools without fully understanding them. This knowledge gap becomes critical when it affects strategic decisions.
My recent exploration into mini-apps demonstrates exactly how this transition is reshaping what individual creators can accomplish: https://thoughts.jock.pl/p/ai-mini-apps-guide-when-build-how-start-2025. The question isn't whether to adapt, but how thoughtfully we integrate these tools into our workflows.
It really applies to almost everything new and disruptive, just like you mentioned with e-commerce.
And yes to that moment of panic, I think a lot more people are hitting that now, as AI shifts from a “nice-to-have” to something actively reshaping strategy and roles.
"I realized that if I wanted to stay relevant as a founder, a creator, and someone building for the future, I needed to truly understand the world of AI." well said!
Enjoyed reading this layman’s guide to AI. Thank you Daria. Recently, I have also been ruminating on the ‘thinking’ capabilities or the ‘mimicking of thinking’ capabilities by AI.
It’s such an interesting (and tricky) distinction: actual thinking vs. mimicking patterns of thought. Definitely one of the big questions we’ll keep circling as AI evolves.
This is a great introduction to AI and invites us to reflect about its future.
I agree that: Understanding AI isn't optional anymore. It's becoming a fundamental skill, a kind of superpower, that can help you navigate, adapt, and thrive in the future economy.
And I'm personally more excited than cautious about the future of AI.
Thanks, Daria.
Really appreciate you taking the time to read and share your thoughts. I’m with you, there’s so much potential here, and being proactive about understanding it is essential.
I really like how you analyze everything,very detailed, simple to understand and informative, I enjoy reading your writting about Ai and am learning.
Thank you so much for saying that! I’m so glad the posts are helpful and easy to follow.
You've broken down the puzzle into bite sized bits. I've learned more about AI through this one post than all the resources I've read so far. I'm intrigued by AI. So this fits in perfectly. Thanks, Daria.😉
Such a great feedback, thank you! I’m so glad it added something useful for you.
I had a similar moment few years ago, using AI daily, impressed by what it could do, but unable to explain how it actually worked. That gap felt small until I had to talk about it, then it hit hard. Like you said: admiring AI isn’t enough. Understanding it is what makes the difference between just keeping up and truly building with it.
we really lived the same plot twist!! :))
You hit on a key point here when you talked about showing the AI examples. A lot of the time when you don’t get the output you wanted from Chat-or Claude, or whatever your preferred AI pal is these days- it is because you forgot the example. When I worked in education, showing an example was a sure fire way to “model” to students what we meant. When we wanted creativity, we skipped the example. So, if you want a vert creative output, skip the example.
Yes, exactly!! Such a great point.
It is the perfect soil in which to grow paranoid fantasies of everything we can’t control…and it’s an exciting adventure where we test our ability to adapt and, after discovering what it is, use our human edge to transcend.
Well put. It does stir up all our deepest fears about losing control, but it also pushes us to evolve.
Loved how this framed AI as a mirror instead of a myth. It’s not about replacing the writer, it’s about reflecting just enough light to find your voice in the dark.
This is a really thoughtful breakdown of where AI stands today. You use the word "reshaped" a few times, and I think that's the perfect description of what's happening. I follow professional chess and I've seen the exact same thing happen there.
Over the past decade or so, chess computers have become so powerful that they've completely altered how the game is played. The change in chess seems to be the exact pattern you're describing. We're seeing AI capabilities become the new benchmarks that define excellence across domains. Companies now ask "do we need a human for this?" rather than "how can we make humans more effective?"
I explored this dynamic and its broader implications in an essay (devingalloway.substack.com/p/stockfish-swap) about how what happened in chess might give us a preview of what will happen in other areas as AI continues advancing.
Your point about being "early" is crucial for navigating these shifts intentionally.
Great analogy you did here with chess. I guess AI has now reached a point where it’s reshaping everything around us (slowly... or not so slowly). I think both companies and individuals should be looking at how to make people more effective.
Thank you for sharing your piece, really looking forward to reading it.
Your point about effectiveness rather than competition resonates deeply. What I find most promising are the examples where people learn to work *with* the new standards rather than simply submit to them.
The risk, as I see it, is when we become passive recipients of machine-generated standards rather than active collaborators in defining what effectiveness actually means.
I so agree with this, Devin! I’ve seen it play out in my own work too. We’re lazy creatures (well… our brains are) and always looking for shortcuts, so it’s easy to slip into that passive mode. That’s why I think education on how to use AI properly is so essential right now, especially as it becomes more and more mainstream.
I actually deep-dived into this topic here if you’re curious: https://aiblewmymind.substack.com/p/how-gpt-can-make-you-dumber-and-how
The evolution of AI from Turing's theoretical questions to today's generative tools mirrors what I've observed in the digital commerce landscape - we've moved through similar phases of narrow applications to increasingly sophisticated systems. What's particularly interesting is how AI adoption follows the same pattern we saw with e-commerce platforms - skepticism, early adoption by tech-forward companies, and eventually mainstream implementation.
Having spent years integrating digital systems across marketing and e-commerce environments, I recognize that moment of panic the author describes - using tools without fully understanding them. This knowledge gap becomes critical when it affects strategic decisions.
My recent exploration into mini-apps demonstrates exactly how this transition is reshaping what individual creators can accomplish: https://thoughts.jock.pl/p/ai-mini-apps-guide-when-build-how-start-2025. The question isn't whether to adapt, but how thoughtfully we integrate these tools into our workflows.
I actually wrote something here on that exact wave of initial skepticism → eventual adoption: https://substack.com/@dariacupareanu/note/c-113244133
It really applies to almost everything new and disruptive, just like you mentioned with e-commerce.
And yes to that moment of panic, I think a lot more people are hitting that now, as AI shifts from a “nice-to-have” to something actively reshaping strategy and roles.
"I realized that if I wanted to stay relevant as a founder, a creator, and someone building for the future, I needed to truly understand the world of AI." well said!
and so true! :)
Just read it again! As always, learned something again... 🔥
I would encourage everyone to read Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Harari.
Enjoyed reading this layman’s guide to AI. Thank you Daria. Recently, I have also been ruminating on the ‘thinking’ capabilities or the ‘mimicking of thinking’ capabilities by AI.
It’s such an interesting (and tricky) distinction: actual thinking vs. mimicking patterns of thought. Definitely one of the big questions we’ll keep circling as AI evolves.
Great piece!
Just started on the platform and there’s some awesome stuff on here.
Got something for those fans of AI, Business and Tech: https://rebeltechnologist.substack.com/p/leadership-matters-a-rebels-approach?r=5jmiqh