AI Shortcuts Are Hurting Your Chance of Success

Using AI is tempting, but dangerous

Stained glass at WDW. Not AI. Photo by Author

Shortcuts have been around as long as humans.

We seem wired to find easier, faster ways to do things. Just in my own household, I have a robot vacuum and lawn mower, releasing me from these irritating tasks.

Other examples include exercise gadgets like the Thighmaster, Shake Weights, and a machine from the 1930s that violently vibrates your body in a weird attempt to get you fit in the fastest way possible.

AI is merely the latest tool to help get things done quickly, or at least it is marketed that way. You may be bombarded with ads trying to convince you this chatbot or that language model is the key to quick success. You may be offered online courses, or bundles with thousands of prompts, which are, essentially, shortcuts for the shortcuts. Many of these ads are designed to convince us we can create astounding works of art without learning or practicing anything.

But have you ever stopped to consider whether this is a good idea?

Learning any art or skill takes time.

Malcolm Gladwell states in his book Outlier that to be a master of anything requires 10,000 hours of practice. Doing the math tells…