“I don’t have time to learn AI today.”
While that is something many people may say, it’s something I often tell myself too. Even though I know that I have to keep ahead of the curve so I can help others upskill in Gen AI, I also struggle with carving out time for daily self-learning and experimentation.
Right now, I’m experimenting with the newly released Windows version of Claude Cowork, going through n8n exercises, and trying out different workflow experiments in Microsoft 365 Copilot (the paid enterprise version). Each app requires many hours of trial and error for me to figure out how to design hands-on exercises, and I have to balance this with my lecturer workload at my university.
But I’m naturally motivated to self-learn because I have a goal of helping others with Gen AI. When I think about the average Joe/Joan, what would be his/her motivation to learn AI today? Many knowledge workers I’ve spoken to during my workshops say they have used Gen AI but they don’t think that it’s going to have a dramatic impact on their jobs.
Perhaps it is all the chaotic noise they encounter. The news headlines and social media posts are filled with endless AI headlines, and every big company insists on telling you how it is integrating AI. There are people who are bent on telling you about the problems of Gen AI (while quietly using it themselves). It’s so hard to separate AI hype from hate from reality.
And when I look around the MRT train cabin, most people seem happy to lose themselves in their smartphone screens. Are they spending any time on learning AI for themselves?
To be honest, when I started my Gen AI workshops three years ago, I could not foresee how big it would become. This week, the Singapore 2026 Budget was unveiled, and it was staggering to see how many AI initiatives are being rolled out to individuals and companies to get them to embed AI. Six months of premium AI tools with selected SkillsFuture courses? There’s going to be a mad rush for them.
But policy cannot dictate an individual’s motivation. The desire to get good at something must come from within. And Gen AI keeps advancing, so even if you know how to write good prompts in ChatGPT, it’s no longer enough. We’re now at the stage of churning out infographics, creating chatbots, vibe coding web apps and designing workflows with AI, and who knows what the next stage will bring?
What I wrote in the past two weeks
The four challenges many people face in learning Gen AI, as gleaned from my conversations over three years.
There’s a difference between Media Literacy and AI literacy. Knowing both will save your bank accounts from scammers.
I liked the quotes from an ST interview with Prof Anthony Klotz about AI’s impact and his advice for young people (paraphrased as “don’t spend all your time on your day job”).
AI slop causing brain rot? You betcha!
I hardly press play on YouTube videos now. I simply summarise them with the “Ask (Gemini)” button on the video page. And here is the summary of an AI-learning framework that I like.
I’m trying out the Plaud Note Pro, an AI note taker (aka AI transcription device). It works very well in difficult scenarios, and I’ll cover the pros and cons in a later post.
I went CNY shopping with my students at Jurong Point mall to teach them the universal 4Ps (product, price, place, promo) of marketing. I do this every semester that I teach Integrated Marketing Communication.
CNY marketing has drowned out Valentine’s Day this year. Not that I celebrate the latter anyway, every day should be V-day for couples.
I’m appearing on the Canteen Chats vodcast by the Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE) soon!
Dear media, stop it with the horrendous pop-up ads already. They’re just accelerating your decline.
Oh no, not another attempt by OpenAI to get you to create a meme photo of yourself. You can still be creative and not follow the masses in making boring caricatures.
Or you could try this game card approach which Uli Hitzel inspired me with.
My ongoing battle with my waistline continues. I will not lose this battle. One of my methods is to chop and eat Hami Melons.