What I told my brother about AI.

My brother is thirty-nine. He reads two newspapers a day. He has strong opinions about most things. He doesn’t really use technology for fun — he uses it because he has to.

He called me last week. We don’t call often. He said: hey, what do I do with this AI thing? Everyone keeps asking me about it at work and I don’t know what to say.

I asked him what he wanted to do with it.

He said: I don’t know. I just feel like I’m falling behind.

This is a thing I keep encountering with smart, capable people who didn’t grow up technical. The conversation about AI has been so loud and so unrelenting that they feel like the world is moving without them, and they don’t know what tool to pick up, or what question to ask, or whether they’re missing something important.

So I told my brother what I would tell anyone in this position. It took about five minutes. I’ve now had this same conversation, in some version, with about thirty different people. I’m writing it down because I think it might be useful.

One. Ignore the productivity people. If a thousand newsletters are telling you to use AI to be more productive at work, and your brain is glazing over, that’s because productivity isn’t the most interesting thing about it. It’s the loudest thing. Not the most interesting.

Two. Pick one person you love. A friend, a kid, your wife, a parent, a sibling. (Not me — pick someone in your actual life.)

Three. Make one thing for that person. Something you’ve been meaning to make and haven’t. A short note. A small story. A song. A custom card. It doesn’t really matter what — just that there’s a real person on the receiving end and the thing exists because of them.

That’s the whole onboarding.

He was quiet for a minute. Then he said: I want to make my wife a song for our anniversary.

I told him I’d help him.

It took us about thirty minutes that evening. Most of that time was him deciding what jokes to put in, what memories to reference, and the line she always says when she’s annoyed at him in a really affectionate way. The AI was about twelve minutes of the thirty. The actual work was him sitting and remembering.

He sent her the song the morning of their anniversary. He hasn’t told me what she said.

I think he’s still processing it himself. He’s not a man who reaches for sentimental things easily, and he just made one, and I think it surprised him.

What I keep noticing is that when smart non-technical people pick up AI for the right reason — to make something for someone — they don’t need a course. They don’t need a workflow. They need someone to tell them what it’s for, not what the loud version is telling them it’s for.

So if there’s a smart, capable, slightly-overwhelmed person in your life who keeps half-asking you about AI — try this. Tell them: don’t read more about it. Pick one person you love. Make them something. Send me the result.

It’s been the most useful five minutes I’ve had with anyone, over and over again. The smartest people in my life don’t need more information. They need a different angle.

I’m really glad you’re here.

— Tapan, TC

PS — Who’s the smart non-techy person in your life who’s been half-asking about AI? Forward them this one. They might thank you.