Writing, Thinking, and When NOT to Use AI

Terminator. Bladerunner. The Matrix. They all warned us about artificial intelligence. But we invented it anyway and now there is no going back.

So how shall we go forward in the age of generative AI?

As we race to respond, data security, child safety, GDPR, IP protection, and plagiarism rank high on our list of concerns. We call these manageable risks as we lean in to embrace AI and the promise of a transformed world.

But is there more at stake than we realise?

When we let AI write for us, are we saving time or risking our own intelligence? Are we freeing ourselves from tedious emails or rupturing our communication with each other?

These questions could hardly be more pressing.

If we hand all this over to an AI, yes, we might save time. In the short term. In the long run, we may be outsourcing our capacity for reasoning and creative problem-solving. We let ourselves depend on second-hand sources of information. We slip into cognitive debt without realising. We get good at prompting AIs but bad at thinking for ourselves.

Is that what we want? Of course not.

That’s why I created Writing, Thinking, and When NOT to Use AI: New Insights for Policy and Practice, a thinkshop designed for leadership teams in education, higher education, and the public and private sectors.

And yet, they seem to be slipping under the radar. Increasingly we hear ‘Oh, but I only get AI to do the rough draft’, or ‘Oh, but I only use it to help structure my ideas’, or ‘Oh, but I just use it for editing’ or ‘Oh, but it’s just a summarising tool.’ And gradually, these uses become the new normal.

But here’s the thing: drafting, structuring, editing, and summarising are not mundane tasks. They are the cornerstones of human thinking.

When we draft, we come to grips with what our ideas are. When we structure those ideas, we use our own skill and logic to make a persuasive case that we can call our own. When we edit, we are deciding how we think our ideas fit together. When we summarise what we have read, we are deciding why we think it matters.

If we hand all this over to an AI, yes, we might save time. In the short term. In the long run, we may be outsourcing our capacity for reasoning and creative problem-solving. We let ourselves depend on second-hand sources of information. We slip into cognitive debt without realising. We get good at prompting AIs but bad at thinking for ourselves.

In this thinkshop, I help you and your team navigate a robust response to generative AI. I guide you in:

  • Rediscovering the cognitive value of writing as a tool for human critical thinking

  • Reframing writing as authentic human communication in your organisation

  • Understanding ownership, investment, and responsibility for what we write ourselves

  • Rethinking your approach to what acceptable means when it comes to using AI

  • Recognising the ethical issues that emerge if we let AI write for use

  • Articulating nagging doubts about AI into clear policy objectives

  • Translating your understanding of writing, thinking, and AI into training new training strategies

You’ll leave with

A consistent framework for making decisions about AI use going forward in a swiftly changing landscape

1-Hour Keynote

50-minute talk + 10-minute Q & A

2-Hour Workshop

£500

£700

All prices are starting prices

Perfect for:

Staff Development Days

INSET Days

Away Days

Strategic Resets

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Fantastic and highly informative workshop that raised a series of fundamentally important issues about AI and its impact on our ways of life.” – Dr Thomas Rodgers, Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Don’t let shiny new AI syndrome undermine your power to think. Be sure about when it’s working for you, and when it’s working against you.