Everywhere you turn, AI seems to be there. It’s almost as ubiquitous in conversations this year as Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour. The general population has been playing with Generative AI tools. Companies have been improving the models and touting their apps. One of the big opportunities for us as individuals is to think about AI for learning.
The metaphor I prefer for these tools is that they are like an amazingly effective Junior Assistant. This slight shift in perspective helps us ask new and different questions. Like: How can AI make me a more effective learner?
I made a list of answers to this question based on my personal experience. I then consulted ChatGPT to see if it suggested any other ideas. What follows is my list, with one great addition.
AI Can Help You Be a Better Writer
It can help you brainstorm topics. But more interestingly to me, it can give you feedback and suggestions on improving what you have written. Yes, this can help you have a better written product. But as a continual learner, it helps you see mistakes you made so you can avoid them in the future.
AI Can Help You See Connections and Ideas
Share questions and information with an AI tool to generate images, diagrams, and other visual representations of the content. This is helpful for anyone – but especially visual learners.
AI Can Help Fuel Our Curiosity
Curiosity is the mother of learning. Yes, we can ask AI tools questions when we are curious. More interestingly, the tools can give us new avenues to explore, resources to consider and specifics for our learning path.
AI Can Help Us Summarize Information
Perhaps you have whitepapers, articles, and videos you would like to learn from, but never get to. I know I do. Let AI tools summarize these for you. Ask for a 200-word summary of the 3000-word article or 20 minute video. That might be all you need.
AI Can Help You Learn a Language
If you are trying to learn a new language, AI tools can offer real-time translation and support. These may augment or replace the other approaches you are using to learn that language.
AI Can Help You Learn Soft Skills
Beyond technical skills, AI tools can help you learn and apply leadership communication and other skills. It can function as a coach or develop scenarios to practice before you apply those skills in real life.
AI Can Be Your Coach
I know I have said this already, but you can ask the AI to be your coach. Before you ask your question, give AI a role. Tell it what kind of coach you need, with what skills, knowledge, and personal attributes. You will likely be pleasantly surprised by the ideas you receive.
This is a brief list, meant to be general. While AI can help you as a learner in many other specific ways, this is a starting point. I hope it helps you see at least one new way you could use AI for learning.
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