AI has been the background noise of every software conversation lately. Some people treat it as a superpower that will solve everything. Others point to low-quality AI slop online and see it as the end of original thought. I am somewhere in the middle. I use AI a lot, and I trust it for some things, but not for the parts of my work that need my judgment, voice, or experience.
Where my interest in AI started
I did not suddenly discover AI when ChatGPT landed. I had been curious about machine learning for years. My first proper conversations about AI bias were back in 2019, when I was travelling for conference talks. That early interest made it easy to jump onto the newer tools when they appeared. I think the first ones I tried seriously were about two years ago.
Since then, AI has become part of how I think through data problems, evaluate business direction, and fill gaps in areas where I have less experience, such as marketing strategy. It has helped me refine ideas that would have taken much longer on my own. But I have never used it to create my original content. I do not think it is capable of that, at least not in a way that reflects what I want to say or how I say it. I do use it for proof reading, though.
The parts of AI that do not work for me
It is obvious when a social post has been generated with a weak prompt and no editing. The structure is off, the language is flat, and the point is usually half-formed. I spend enough time teaching testers how to communicate clearly that I cannot bring myself to publish anything like that. If a piece of writing does not feel like mine, I will not post it.
There is also the distraction element. I run a business on my own, which is exactly how I like it, but AI tools give me endless opportunities to avoid doing something boring. If there is a new tool, a new model, or a new setting I have not tried yet, I will happily explore that instead of doing my accounting. My curiosity can be both my strength and my most reliable form of procrastination.
The tool I ignored for too long
With all that said, it surprised me how long it took me to try NotebookLM. I had seen people talking about it, but because I prefer reading to watching videos, I did not make much effort to explore it. NotebookLM presents material back to you in different formats, and that did not appeal to me at first.
When I finally tried it, I found it more useful than I expected. You can ask questions about your own source material, or you can turn it into a short podcast. Listening to the podcast version has become a convenient way to get my news fix while doing something with my hands, like folding laundry. It fits nicely into the way I already learn.
Bringing that into my own work
Trying NotebookLM made me think differently about my own materials. Not everyone prefers reading. Some people process better when they can listen, or when something is broken down step by step instead of sitting in a long document.
So I experimented. I created a short video using my QED framework and my QA language cheat sheet, and I used NotebookLM to help structure it in a way that would work for people who prefer to listen or watch. It was a small step, but it made my work feel more accessible.
If this format is helpful, I can do more of it. And if you want to hear more about how I actually use AI in my day-to-day work, let me know. I am happy to share the practical side of it, rather than the hype.
I love NotebookLM! That is all!
I don’t know how I slept on it for so long, it’s great!
I really like Notebook LM as well. I also agree with you on the idea of not posting writing that doesn’t feel like mine.
How do you use it? I’m always curious to hear what others do with it!