AI isn’t scary because it’s complicated. It’s scary because most of us don’t know how to talk about it.
We fumble with terms, we hesitate in meetings, we nod along in webinars—then walk away feeling even more behind. But the truth is: you’re not behind. You’re just not speaking the language of AI yet. And I know from personal experience that this is something you can absolutely learn. You just have to be curious.
The Problem (Why AI Feels So Intimidating)
Here is the Problem (Of Why AI Feels So Intimidating)
The articles are flooding our emails and newsfeeds. Learn AI, Be an AI Expert, Do This With AI, etc. How can we do our work and live our life when all this pressure surrounds us in every aspect of or work and life?
And who doesn’t feel overwhelmed or inadequate when it comes to AI? Not because of the tools (and let’s be real, there are way too many tools), but because starting a conversation about AI feels like a spotlight will turn on and we will be thrown on a stage to either be the expert, or worse, to have to defend humanity against all the accusations and new “studies” of using AI.
If you have ever travelled to a foreign country and had to ask someone where the bus stop is located, you know what I am talking about. One practiced sentence spoken with near perfection leads to a barrage of questions by a native speaker. And we don’t have the “other” words, or any words, so we hesitate. We avoid talking to anyone.
This is how AI is unfolding. We get stuck in fear loops. We use it, a little. But can we use it? What will my boss say if he/she knows I am using it? And all the articles say we will all lose our job because of AI, so am I part of the problem? Questions without answers.
But most people are using AI as “Google search.” And AI is NOT just a search engine. It’s a partner and guide to our personal and professional productivity. But get out of the fear loop. AI knowledge is not about having all the answers, it’s about learning how to ask better questions.
Historical Context (Here is a comforting parallel)
If you are old enough to remember the 2000s you may remember going to work and having an email address.
Remember when email replaced those big manila envelopes with the checkboxes and initial lines for the contents inside? (If you don’t remember that, yes, inside was a document that you were expected to read and then confirm you read it by putting your initials and checking the box. AND dripping off the envelope to the next person on the list!) So, email would seem like a gift! A timesaver, right? WRONG. People were intimidated. What’s a CC? What’s a hyperlink?
Oh, and there were “resisters” everywhere! “This isn’t going to replace real mail!” Over time, we embraced email, picked up the language, and it became second nature. Email is how we communicate.
Every major transformation—whether it was computers, the internet, or now AI—begins with learning how to talk about it. In the early days of computers, only the daring could understand the MS-DOS prompt, but very quickly, computers used our language, and we began to understand how to make it work for us by learning more of its language. Language builds confidence, and that is where we are today with AI.
You Don’t Need to Be Technical to Be AI-Literate
Encouragement and empowerment.
The pace of AI may be swifter than you wish to acknowledge, but in that speed comes literacy. You don’t need a degree in data science, even if most companies are still hiring IT specialists to integrate it. You need curiosity and a willingness to learn.
First, you need to open it up and commit to using it. Then start by asking the AI Chat something simple, as if it were your new intern. “Compare the top email providers and write out a pro and con listing. ”You will be amazed at the output!
Now you have started. You went up to that foreign native speaker and asked where the bus stop is! Now, stand back and review the response. “Listen” and absorb the information. Don’t just get excited and keep going. Read the output and “refine your prompts.” Did it give you what you wanted? What is missing? What did you forget to include and ask? Learn from the responses. This is your “intern,” and you are the expert. It’s ok to say, “Hey, wait, I totally forgot to ask for the pricing. Can you include this?” Speak to AI like you would your new intern.
You’re not trying to become a “prompt engineer”—you’re just learning how to speak a new language of work.
A Prompt Engineer is someone who designs and refines the instructions (prompts) given to an AI model to get the desired output. They essentially learn how to “talk” to the AI effectively so it understands what you want.
Try This at Work or Home, Please.
The goal here is to add value to your life with a small actionable challenge.
Confidence Builder: Ask ChatGPT to help you plan a weeknight dinner with ingredients in your fridge. Then ask it to rewrite a professional thank-you note with some casual humor.
Notice how your language affects the output. Notice how small refinements begin to sound like you! Be you! Take your time. No one is watching; it’s just you asking for help with a project or task. That’s not just “prompting”—that’s learning to speak AI.
Language Builds Belonging
Let’s head back to Rome.
If you ever had to ask where the bus stop was or a bathroom location in a foreign land, you know and understand something uniquely human about learning A Language. Its scary but empowering. It creates a smile along with sweat and nervousness. It builds belonging where there was only strangeness before.
When we can talk about something, we feel less afraid of it. So when you use AI and test it, you become a learner. You begin to infuse your expertise and experience. Your POV becomes critical to the process and to the productivity. Language creates clarity, clarity builds confidence, and confidence unlocks participation. And most importantly, AI is NEW (despite what you are reading), which means we are all beginning to learn. “Boomer Joe” and “GenZ Sasha” are at the same point in the technology transformation, so LEARN TOGETHER.
If we want to be part of the future, we don’t need to know everything about AI technology and use– we just need to start the conversation.
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Posted on LinkedIn
