How to play your way to AI fluency

Can coat hooks level up your AI skills?

I’ll admit it sounds like a stretch. But that’s exactly how I boosted my AI literacy over the summer, as an almost accidental by-product of our home improvements. In the course of replacing our entryway closet with coat hooks, I explored a bunch of new uses for AI.

That experience helped me better understand the powers and constraints of generative AI, and build some practical skills I’m already applying in my professional life.

Even though this was my first time harnessing AI to help with home renos, my process paralleled the four-step process I’ve used to stretch my tech skills for more than three decades:

• Throw yourself into a non-work project you really care about.
• Choose at least one tech tool you’re going to explore in the course of pursuing this project.
• Experiment with at least three approaches to applying this technology to your current project.
• Keep notes and document lessons learned, especially as they apply to your work.