7 Tips to use AI – without outsourcing your thinking
6 November 2026
While AI systems are becoming increasingly powerful, they're still a tool and not a substitute for human reasoning. Dr Jesin James offers tips on how we can think about and use AI in helpful ways.
1. Learn what AI is doing
Let’s start by taking a step back. Before using AI, take a moment to understand how it works. AI doesn’t ‘think’ like a human; it learns patterns from data and uses those patterns to make its best guess. Understanding this helps you use AI critically. (And you can learn how to do this with the help of AI! See Tip 3.)
2. Think about the impact of data
Before diving in, think about that data. This can be anything from text, speech and images to spending habits, traffic patterns, medical scans or even your coffee orders. AI is only as good as the data it learns from. When using AI, consider whether it has access to enough relevant, high-quality data for the purpose you’re using it for. Also, think about the broader impacts of collecting and processing that data, including privacy, ethics, bias and the energy required to power AI systems.
3. Learn something new
Got that? Okay, let’s dive in. AI is great for learning something new, whether that’s a language, musical instrument or programming language. You can use AI to suggest resources, create practice exercises and quiz you. The resources should be based on research and from experts, but AI can be that tireless mate who is always available to explain, quiz and practise if you are prepared to question its responses.
4. Cut through paperwork
Nobody enjoys filling out forms, summarising meetings, searching policies or rewriting an email. AI can handle much of this repetitive work, leaving you more time for work that needs your attention and creativity. Just like data is more than text, AI applications are more than just chatbots, so it pays to see what applications are available for your specific needs.
5. Embrace your second pair of eyes
AI can help spot things that are easy to miss, whether it’s an error in a document, a fault in a product or something unusual in an image. Adding complexity to this, AI can identify faults in manufacturing and even assist with disease screening. Of course, humans can do this too, but AI can help us focus our attention on what must be done with these observations and how to respond to them.
6. Make information more accessible
Access to information should not depend on the language you speak, your hearing ability, or where you were born. You can use AI tools for real-time translation when travelling, automatic captions during meetings and lectures, or live transcription when following a conversation. This is not just about convenience. When more people can access information, express their ideas, and participate fully, the playing field becomes fairer. However, language carries nuance and cultural context that AI can sometimes miss. Human expertise remains essential for accuracy and context.
7. Waste less
A lot of commentary about AI focuses on the energy it uses, but the technology can also help us use our resources more efficiently. AI can be especially useful for identifying opportunities to reduce energy consumption and reducing food waste by reminding us to use food before it expires and planning meals around ingredients we already have. Sometimes, the most valuable role of AI is not to help us consume more, but to manage the everyday details that help us waste less and make better use of what we already have.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2026 issue of Ingenio.