I’m 4’10” on a good day. This is me standing next to Zaza Pachulia, the former Golden State Warriors center, who is 6’11”. You can do the math.
Nobody looks at this photo and thinks I should try harder to be taller. (Well, maybe my husband and some of our closest family and friends. 🤪) And no one on a plane has ever asked me to help with the overhead bin. When the difference is obvious, we just help. We reach up, grab the bag, and move on.
Very few have that instinct with AI.
AI right now rewards a specific way of thinking. If you naturally break problems into steps and structure prompts in sequence, it feels like a superpower. Same thing if you can easily connect the dots and envision a full process. If your brain doesn’t work that way, the same tools feel confusing and frustrating, and it’s easy to assume you’re the problem.
You’re not. But the gap is real, and it’s been three years.
The tools are catching up fast. AI is getting better at asking you questions instead of waiting for the perfect prompt. Agents are starting to handle the instructions that used to be all on you. Templates and pre-built workflows are replacing that “what do I even ask?” moment.
Think about the first time you used a smartphone. You didn’t learn it from a manual. The design got better and moved on from tiny buttons, a stylus, and no apps. Someone showed you a few things and you figured out the rest pretty quickly. AI is heading the same direction.
But right now, in this gap, if you can reach the overhead bin, reach it. I don't know if Zaza is a systems thinker, but if he's not, I'd gladly return the favor and help him with AI.
Nobody looks at this photo and thinks I should try harder to be taller. (Well, maybe my husband and some of our closest family and friends. 🤪) And no one on a plane has ever asked me to help with the overhead bin. When the difference is obvious, we just help. We reach up, grab the bag, and move on.
Very few have that instinct with AI.
AI right now rewards a specific way of thinking. If you naturally break problems into steps and structure prompts in sequence, it feels like a superpower. Same thing if you can easily connect the dots and envision a full process. If your brain doesn’t work that way, the same tools feel confusing and frustrating, and it’s easy to assume you’re the problem.
You’re not. But the gap is real, and it’s been three years.
The tools are catching up fast. AI is getting better at asking you questions instead of waiting for the perfect prompt. Agents are starting to handle the instructions that used to be all on you. Templates and pre-built workflows are replacing that “what do I even ask?” moment.
Think about the first time you used a smartphone. You didn’t learn it from a manual. The design got better and moved on from tiny buttons, a stylus, and no apps. Someone showed you a few things and you figured out the rest pretty quickly. AI is heading the same direction.
But right now, in this gap, if you can reach the overhead bin, reach it. I don't know if Zaza is a systems thinker, but if he's not, I'd gladly return the favor and help him with AI.