I have AI fatigue. Maybe you can relate. I’m not anti-AI. I use it, and I’m curious to see where it’s going. But every time I watch a video about it, my feed fills up with side hustles that will make me rich and essential skills I need so I don’t fall behind. What I want to say is that the skills that will set us apart in an age of AI are the ones that make us most human. When we experience challenge and friction in our lives, that’s when we grow. And it’s far too easy to offload that challenge and friction to AI and lose out on becoming a better version of ourselves.
So this video is about three skills: reasoning, reflection, and relationships. (I was a pastor for 20-plus years and always made fun of alliterative sermon outlines, so here we are.) Reasoning is the ability to think deeply and critically, to chase an idea down until you know what you think. I keep a dry-erase marker in the shower for exactly this reason. AI can help, but let it be a conversation partner much further down the road than you think it should. When I make a video, I outline it myself, record a rehearsal, and only then ask Claude where it’s choppy, telling it, “Don’t change my outline. Just put your thoughts below.” Reflection works the same way. Start with yourself. I write at least 500 words in my journal most days, and a local AI model looks back over them to surface feelings I haven’t named or patterns across the weeks. But it starts with me being a reflective person.
Relationships are the one where I don’t have an AI supplement for you. We need people who can share our joy and our grief, who will speak into our lives and tell us when they’re concerned, and we need to offer the same back to them. AI can’t replace a flesh-and-blood person who can do that with you. So let me say it again: I’m not anti-AI, but I am pro-human. The most beneficial uses of AI are the ones that support your humanity rather than replace it. If you’ve found ways AI supports your humanity, or you think I’ve left something out, I’d love to hear about it. And if you want to build a more reflective practice, my reflective journaling course can help.