The Right Tool Rule
A simple rule for choosing the right kind of help
When you run into a problem, do not immediately assume you should solve it yourself.
First, ask:
What is the right kind of help for this problem?
It might be:
your own brain;
an AI;
someone who knows more than you;
an existing tool or solution;
or some combination of all of them.
If you believe employers who say that employees must use AI “or else,” then you will probably want to consider AI early because it is fast and relatively cheap to try. Whether we like it or not, this is an adaptation some of us must make to remain traditionally employed.
Just be ready to constantly adapt - but be careful too! AI is not the solution to everything… but then we already know that.
More importantly, I think that outside of employment, this might actually be a really smart idea. I’m not judging if it’s a good practice or not for employers, but speaking more generally.
AI, specifically large language models, is/are a tool. It can help, just like a computer, a telephone, a hammer, or fire can help.
But that does not mean AI is always the right answer, just like a hammer is not always the right tool.
The real question is not just:
“Can AI do this?”
It is:
“Can AI help me reach a trustworthy answer faster, with less total work and expense, than the other options?”
Because AI can sometimes give you something in five minutes that might otherwise take five hours. But this is not just about AI - anything that gives you the same outcome may have real value depending on your constraints!
It can also give you something in five minutes that would otherwise take five hours.
The most important skill in the AI era may not be prompting.
It may be learning how to solve problems using the right kind of help.
To learn this, I believe you have to be honest with yourself about:
what you know;
what you do not know;
what AI is good at;
what AI is bad at;
more generically, what a particular tool is good at (or bad at);
and whether you are qualified to tell the difference.
This is not easy to learn. That is why I think it is a learned skill, and probably an incredibly important one.
This is really a rule about being intellectually honest with yourself;
protecting your resources - time, energy, judgment, and more.
So here is a simple rule that might help you keep your sanity:
Use your own brain when that is the best route.
Use AI when it is the best route.
Find another person when they are the best route.
Sometimes use a combination of all three.
In other words, focus on learning when to use the right tool for the job, or when another tool might get you through based on your constraints.
The goal is not to prove that you can do everything yourself.
The goal is to solve the problem well, quickly, and comfortably, without giving away your judgment, your agency, or your responsibility for the result.
Afterword
To my readers, I wanted to thank you for reading. It has been some time since I have had something I felt I needed to publish right away.
To my fellow friends who are/were makers, I am sure you will no doubt recognize this nugget of “use the right tool for the job”. It turns out that the right tool is not always what we expect, and that is part of the fun of life (and creativity). Still, this skill has proved priceless for me throughout my life and work, along with being open-minded about options.
Like many writers, thinkers, and humans, I am finding that writing and publishing inertia is difficult these days - call it the times, depression, or whatever you wish - the combination of factors just is.
I will continue to try to share when I think I have something of actual value to give. I write mainly when I think there is something in my head that should not die alone up there with me when the time ultimately comes.
I write because I want to help others, and because I hope/think I have something important to say.
I hope this helps.
It has been a busy summer, and I am trying to pick up some pace of work after a long succession of events.
Thank you again for your readership, and happy to hear from you any time.