AI Literacy
The Future We Need
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Friends,
As regular readers know, I’m always upskilling—especially as AI evolves at lightning speed. While experimenting with tools like ChatGPT is valuable, I’m eager to dive deeper. That’s why I just enrolled in the AI Career Accelerator, a live 3-week course designed to supercharge your AI expertise. The curriculum is outstanding, and what clinched it for me was this promise: “You’ll leave with a personal toolkit to navigate AI over the next decade.” I’ve connected with the instructor, Nate, and he’s offering an exclusive 15% discount for the next cohort starting this month through this link. If you’re serious about mastering AI, don’t miss this opportunity. Share with your peers, and maybe I’ll see you there!
Being literate about AI is as critical as being computer literate was a generation ago. I'm convinced that it's one of the most important skills you need to develop, nurture and advance with, both personally and at the heart of organisations. I have also wondered whether this newsletter could quite easily be replaced with a semi-sentient agent, which picks out suggested pieces based on my taste and puts together something artificially thoughtful based on my style. It's not beyond the realms of reality. Maybe there’s only a few years left of me being able to do this better than a bot.
At its core, AI literacy involves three key components: understanding, evaluating, and using AI tools. Understanding AI means grasping the basic principles of how these systems function. It's about knowing enough to ask the right questions, like: What data is this system analysing? How does it come to its conclusions? Evaluating AI requires a critical eye—realizing that not all AI outputs are accurate or unbiased. And using AI involves engaging with these tools effectively, whether that’s through interpreting results or applying them to your work.
Schools and organisations need to step up significantly. They must integrate AI literacy into their curricula and training programs. This initiative isn’t just about equipping students with new skills; it’s about creating informed citizens capable of navigating an increasingly complex digital world. When every student understands AI, they're better prepared for whatever careers lie ahead. We will step ahead when AI is embedded into our companies' decision-making systems. If they're not, these companies will stagnate.
I hear questions about how we can use Chat-GPT to use X, or do Y - but it's not just about using AI to solve the problem, it's about being preemptive in its use.
Current educational frameworks often lag behind the rapid advancements in technology. This can't continue. We need to implement structured lessons on AI that offer hands-on experience and foster curiosity. By doing this, we create a more competent workforce and equip learners with the tools to thrive. I like to call it moving from Chat-GPT to Strat-GPT - how can we be more strategic in the use of AI and the tools that we employ as part of our company and personal workflows.
But let’s not make the mistake of thinking it’s only the job of educators. Leaders and policymakers must champion AI literacy as well. This is about creating an ecosystem where people at all levels of society can participate in the debate about how AI should be used. It's not enough to just trust the technology; we must understand its implications, from ethical concerns to real-world applications.
As we advance toward a future increasingly shaped by machines, the dynamic between humans and AI will be pivotal. Rather than viewing AI as a threat to jobs, recognize it as a tool that enhances our capabilities. I hate hearing the people-reduction conversations about AI. That's short-sighted. We need to think about using AI to get to 100x of our potential. If we think of AI as a partner that can help us, we can leverage its strengths while contributing our uniquely human perspective—our creativity, our empathy, our judgment - our humanness.
It might sound daunting, but embracing this new age of technology starts with simple steps. Begin with basic courses - many available on YouTube, explore how AI tools operate within your field, and engage in conversations about your experiences. In this early stage of AI, it's about coming to a commonality of path, and agreeing on what we should and shouldn't be doing. It's why I have collated papers in my own field, based on what I think is important. And if you are technically minded, deep dive further with the plethora of courses available. I’m jealous that I’m not so technical these days, as these LLMs and APIs available would be a playground for those capable.
If we truly want to thrive in an AI-driven world, we must cultivate a mindset that sees learning as a continuous process. It’s up to each of us to inquire, to challenge, and to grow. After all, understanding isn't just about knowing; it’s about being able to apply that knowledge in meaningful ways. AI literacy is not an option anymore—it’s a necessity. Think of AI Literacy as a common skill that we will need to have, like reading and writing, or the ability to use technology with mindful efficiency.
Stay Curious - and don’t forget to be amazing,
PS. In addition to this newsletter, I recommend some other great ones. All free. Check them out here.
Here are my recommendations for this week:
One of the best tools to provide excellent reading and articles for your week is Refind. It’s a great tool for keeping ahead with “brain food” relevant to you and providing serendipity for some excellent articles that you may have missed. You can dip in and sign up for weekly, daily or something in between -what’s guaranteed is that algorithm sends you only get the best articles in your area of choosing. It’s also free. Highly recommended Sign up.
Now
I thought I had read the best AI in Education reports. Covering everything from competency frameworks to ethics to generative AI readiness. This is Part 2, For Part 1, see this.
When to do what you love. When people talk about this question, there's always an implicit "instead of." All other things being equal, why wouldn't you work on what interests you the most? So even raising the question implies that all other things aren't equal, and that you have to choose between working on what interests you the most and something else, like what pays the best. (A Paul Graham Must-Read)
I’ve studied highly creative people for 40 years: They share these 6 habits. You have to consistently run and be active for months, and sometimes years, in advance of the big event in order to be competitive.
Is Bipolar Disorder Overdiagnosed? The criteria for the condition have expanded since the 1980s, scooping up patients who say the diagnosis has steered them down the wrong path. Health related: These Are the Most Common Colon Cancer Symptoms in Young People
We tested six smart rings, and there’s a clear winner. Six smart rings for the wearable reviewer, but only one ring could rule them all. Obviously, I’m wearing the winner. Health related: Why Women Get Migraines More Than Men
Next
OpenAI Nearly Doubles Valuation to $157 Billion in Funding Round
The funding round ($6.6bn) is one of the largest ever for a private company, save for the $10 billion OpenAI itself raised from Microsoft in January 2023. Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI raised $6 billion. Related: Chat-GPT’s latest announcement is Canvas which might just change that way you think about interacting with bots. Similar to Claude’s Artefacts.
Stop Trying To Replace Your SaaS Products With AI: People making short-sighted tooling decisions is not new. Also: Inside the Secret School for the World’s Best Founders
Beyond Bots: How AI Agents Are Driving the Next Wave of Enterprise Automation - Every job in the economy can be thought of as a bundle of tasks, shared between humans and machines. Over the years, software has picked off more and more of these tasks, but even today, humans still own the vast majority of business processes. In every function, headcount costs dwarf software expenditures by orders of magnitude. Also, Bots, so many Bots
Did Apple Just Kill Social Apps? Some app makers worry that a subtle change to the iPhone’s contact-sharing permissions could make it hard for them to get the fast growth they need to compete. Related: Google brings ads to AI Overviews as it expands AI’s role in search
Enterprise Philosophy and The First Wave of AI - we may be waiting longer than we expect for AI to take over the consumer space, at least at the scale of something like the smartphone or social media. True consumerisation of AI will be left to the next generation who will have never known a world without it.
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