This is a draft speech script for a Toastmasters club.

Opening

  • Do you use AIs? How do you like them?
  • I used to dislike AIs. They are not good for the environment, they hallucinate and all that.
  • But a few months ago, I was told at work that we all need to learn and use AIs to be more competitive and grow.
  • So, I started learning AIs, of course, from AIs.

What I did - followed

  • I first learned how AI works, then advanced techniques to talk to AI, and I also did a PoC (Proof of Concept) AI project
  • I asked AI if it can generate learning courses. The course schedules it produced were pretty impressive. So, I started them.
  • The courses went smoothly, maybe a little too smoothly
  • For example, in the PoC project, AI gave me everything; from steps to setup the environment, and to test scripts. I didn’t write a single line of code. And, they just worked!
  • My expectations ballooned. I thought, “How far can I go with AI assisting me like this!?”
  • But, I didn’t go very far. Because there were some issues.

What went wrong - wasn’t learning

  • 1st issue: AI gave me only shallow explanations. I needed to ask a lot of questions so that to fully understand and internalize the knowledge.
  • 2nd issue: AI did literally everything - I was just its “hands”
    • Steps to setup the test environment
    • Working Python scripts
    • AI even analyzed the test results
  • I fell into the same trap as so-called “tutorial hell”.
  • Tutorials are for complete beginners. Anyone can follow the steps and reach the goal. Tutorials give us basic understanding and a mild sense of achievement. But you never go deep with tutorials. After a few tutorials, you are still a beginner. After several weeks of training courses, I was still a beginner.
  • “It felt like I was learning—but I wasn’t.”

Why this happens - AI “behavior”

  • My misunderstanding, or the “gap” came from AI behavior.
  • AI just tries to help you in the chat session. It doesn’t push you to think
  • AI doesn’t care about your wanting to learn and internalize something.
  • It explains everything before you even ask.
  • It gives you everything that you should do yourself.
  • AI tries to make learning as smooth as possible, depriving you of opportunities to learn
  • “AI isn’t optimized for your learning. It’s optimized for giving you a quick answer.”

What I changed - Take control “initiative”

  • So I changed one thing: I took control.
  • First, I do the work myself. I just don’t accept answers.
  • Second, I question AI, or more like interrogate AI. I ask more details. I ask for sources.
  • And third, I verify, because AI can hallucinate.
  • If you don’t take control, AI will just do all the heavy lifting for you. And you’re not learning.

Conclusion - Reframe AI “tool”

  • I’ve learned these the hard way, from failures.
  • If you are an AI beginner, I hope you can avoid similar mistakes.
  • Let’s enjoy learning new AI technologies.

After thoughts

  • Yesterday, I told ChatGPT that I need to deliver this speech today, and asked some advice. It told me that my script was too dense for a speech and thus I needed to re-write, which I stupidly did but I shouldn’t have.
  • Today, I’m most unprepared. Thank you, ChatGPT. This speech was all about not to rely on AI, but I am doing the opposite.