In airplane mode: Using AI while still thinking for yourself
I was recently on an airplane trip coming back from California. When the flight attendant announced that Wi-Fi would not be available, I heard a collective moan from other travelers. My first thought was wondering what to do without internet access for 5 hours on a plane. Would I take a nap, download an audiobook or a movie before we embarked? None of those really appealed to me. Call me a creature of habit, but I’m used to working during flights.
At that point, I needed to pivot fast. Before we left, I made sure my email account was up to date with incoming messages, so I could do an inbox cleanse. Once we were in the air, I started to respond, delete, or move emails to my “to-do” list. Then, I updated my “to-do” list for the rest of the week and month. I finished these tasks with still 3 more hours to go of the flight.
With airplane snacks in hand, I decided to brainstorm a couple of new thought leadership articles. It was at that moment it dawned on me how much I had come to rely on using generative AI (genAI) for content creation, and to help with my ideation process. It made me sad.
We see so much content on social media and news articles coming from genAI tools. More people want to know how to use AI for content creation than how to tap into their own creative process. When did brainstorming stop being something we do and start being something we ask for?
This is like asking your team if they have a problem, to think first of how to solve it. Then bring those solutions and thoughts, along with the problem, to your attention. Don’t just bring the problem and ask me to solve it.
Working the old-fashioned way vs. using AI for ideation
As I grappled with this conundrum on the airplane, I realized not having access to the internet was a great opportunity to ideate the old-fashioned way; using my brain. Reflecting on lived experiences, what I absorbed from recent articles and reading materials, and then thinking outside the box was a great place to start on a new thought leadership article.
So, what topic did I land on? Leadership and change management. More specifically, how to address those core principles in local government. In a short amount of time, I developed a strong outline with bullet points and crafted the opening paragraph in my own words.
Now I was ready to upload those 730 words into a genAI tool and ask the question, “what have I missed?”
Using AI for content ideation to augment creativity, not replace it
Once I returned to my desk, I turned these thoughts into a complete article, by using the tool as an assistant (rather than a co-author). I approached AI content generation with a renewed set of guiding principles, by asking the tool to:
- Provide feedback in the chat window, an efficient approach that guides me to areas that need further editing
- Include additional resources that strengthen and support the purpose of the content and include reference links
- Give me ideas for a catchy title (something that I am admittedly not good at)
- Point out any grammar issues, spelling mistakes, or incorrect word usage.
When I was done with the final version, I asked the tool to do one more pass of the content, but from the perspective of a specific audience. This is tremendously helpful when learning how to use AI for content creation, because you can gain more insight from additional suggestions genAI may make. For example, I asked it to read this from the perspective of a local government CIO and then from the perspective of a local government elected official.
Instead of genAI automatically improving the content, take the recommendations it gave, and using the “human in the loop” approach, edit the content without cutting/pasting the results. You can then take the newly polished content and ask the tool for a final review, which helps to refine it even further.
Will genAI offer professional edits that polish my thought leadership? Most certainly. But, at the end of the day, I will have started from scratch, with all my original ideas, and I will finish the article with human review.
AI for content ideation isn’t the only option for working smarter
The next time you find yourself without access to Wi-Fi, don’t panic. Grab a pen, pencil, or open the notes app on your phone, and start the ideation process. You just might surprise yourself with how creative you can be and what you come up with.
One final thought for work-related efforts, whether you use all these principles or just a few, make sure you are using a tool that your organization has approved. Be sure to fact check the resources and references it includes. Above all, do not include any confidential or proprietary information in the content that you give the tool to review.
Applying these guiding principles takes practice and daily effort, but it is worth it. After all, starting and ending with human judgement is the foundation for the responsible and ethical use of AI.
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