Going Cold Turkey on AI
The Obsession with Innovation and AI
April 2023… When the AI wave really hit us, it became capable of doing incredible things, and I dove right in. I felt the urgent need to understand what was happening, so I started using every new tool and model that became public.
I explored every model, app, and method available. I even set up autonomous AI-powered software on my desktop to handle tasks. It became somewhat of an obsession. I didn't want our business to fall behind, so I immersed myself completely, spending a LOT of time researching and using these tools.
And looking back I really did take it too far.
Balancing Obsession and Productivity
This obsession meant I was constantly testing and building new things, purely for experimentation and learning.
It started to consume my time to the point where I had to reassess.
My conclusion was to only investigate AI tools that could create efficiencies. At one point, I was using eight or nine different tools daily to compare their outputs.
Efficiencies Over Novelty
I plugged in the same projects into different models to see which came out on top. It got overwhelming, almost like an addiction. I realized I needed to streamline my approach. Now, I focus on tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, ensuring they bring real efficiency before investing more time.
Applying Learnings to the Team
We've been using AI in our IP for about a year now. The main takeaway has been to drive efficiency. That's the message I've tried to instil in the team. AI isn’t here to take our jobs but to enhance our capabilities and provide more value to our clients.
Personal and Professional Integration
Outside of work, I was still glued to my devices, exploring new AI functionalities. It was about testing everything through to completion, which led to some cool, albeit sometimes pointless, projects. For instance, I trained an AI to know my skills and CV, then had it generate blog posts complete with research and images. It was fascinating but not always practical.
The integration of AI into our daily workflow has been a game changer. It’s important to balance the excitement of innovation with practical application to make sure the technology is actually enhancing our work.