You don't HAVE to use AI
On the joy of thinking yourself
TL;DR: We still have some seats open for Escape Velocity - a structured, fast, hands-on sprint to help you figure out what to build, validate it with real people, use AI intelligently throughout – and make your first move. In June, for four weeks. Sign up here: https://missionequality.org/escape-velocity/
There are two types of newsletters I actually read: AI news1, and culture studies.2 Unsurprisingly, AI newsletters usually come in daily, while culture thought pieces arrive on a weekly or biweekly cadence. Thinking deeply and with nuance doesn’t scale easily. Reflecting may require going for a run (or a hike).
And, obviously, any AI newsletter worth its salt is going to use AI to find relevant information, to curate its content, and to make sure that they are always up to date on the latest, fastest, bestest, most amazingnessest.
AI changes fast. Tools appear, and get replaced, disappear, get hacked, improve, and suck you in with the promise that everything will be faster, better, more amazing.
And then there’s you and your brain. Your experience. The things you know. The things you know in your body. The opinions you hold, the wisdom that comes from a lived reality that is yours and only yours, and yet, a lived reality that you can use to deeply connect with other people. On a human level.
Sometimes Right now, a lot of side hustles, business ventures, and new ideas are lacking that connection with human experience. And as a result, many potential creators end up looking at a soulless list of “the 5 best business ideas” resulting from a prompt they found on LinkedIn. Soulless, because the prompt only ever scratched the surface.
So, if, and when, you want to create something: AI should not be your first port of call. AI can help you execute, but the idea, the validation, the magic needs to come from you. That’s how I built AutonomaThatWorks - using AI to accelerate some of the mundane tasks so that the relationships with the freelancers we work with can remain human.
And that’s why the cohort program I am co-facilitating in June starts with YOU, instead of focusing on AI skills. We’ll help you trust your own discernment. YOU are an expert already, even if you might not know yet how to package your knowledge, how to validate your idea, how to adjust it to this brave new world, that made every playbook obsolete.
“Officially”, Escape Velocity helps you get ready for an economy where your employment might not be as stable as you’d like it to be. But honestly? It’s just a fun way to retrain your brain to believe in yourself and to decide very consciously when and if to use AI (and how).
Your voice is important. Your capacity to think deeply and to learn new things is your edge. Your experience is your advantage. So when engaging with AI, make sure it does not blunt your edge and take away your sharpness, in the name of convenience.
Long story short - we still have some seats left. So if you want to try out a new way to create something that is entirely YOURS, while deciding when and how to use AI without loosing yourself, this is for you!
Find out more (and sign up): https://missionequality.org/escape-velocity/
AI-Ready CMO (even though I am definitely NOT a CMO), The Rundown AI, and Staying Ahead. And then there’s How NOT to use AI, which neatly connects with footnote #2
My favourite is literally called Culture Studies. There’s also Janelle Hanchett, Dire Straights, and Men Yell at Me. And then there’s