Wisdom is knowing when not to give it.
I asked a room of cruise guests a simple question: Who here has used AI? Hands went up in waves—ChatGPT, Grammarly, Microsoft Copilot, Google Maps the quiet “helpfulness” built into phones. A few people didn’t raise their hands at all, and I smiled: you may not know you are using AI, but AI is already using you.
Out at sea, you notice thresholds. Miami slips behind. The Dominican Republic isn’t here yet. You’re floating in the middle—awake, but not rushed. That’s also where we are with AI: between convenience and consequence, cleverness and wisdom.
Here’s the idea that held the room: AI is a mirror with manners.
It reflects what we bring to it—our tone, our assumptions, our fears, our curiosity—then sends it back in a polished suit.
If you ask shallow questions, you often get shallow answers—beautifully worded, but thin. If you ask an anxious question, you can receive anxiety with punctuation and confidence. And if you ask something generous—something curious—you can receive a response that opens doors.
Which raises the real question: do we blush, or finally look?
Blushing is the moment you realize you’ve been feeding the machine more than facts. You’ve been feeding it your style of thinking. Your impatience. Your certainty. Your desire to be soothed.
Looking is different. Looking is the decision to keep yourself human-led.
Try this the next time you use AI:
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Ask one better question, not ten fast ones.
Instead of “What’s the best…?” try “What are the tradeoffs, and what should I watch out for?” -
Ask it to slow down.
“Before you answer, list what you’d need to know to be accurate.” -
Ask it to show its doubt.
“Where might this be wrong?”
Because in the new era, the rare skill is not getting an answer. Answers are fat and easy, it’s discerning when an answer is best not given, and recognizing when it shouldn’t be trusted.
For more ponderings on AI … I’ve been collecting experiments and reflections (the messy, honest kind) at ChatGPTandMe.ca for a few years now…
