Before You Ask AI, Ask Yourself

I use AI regularly. And one of the questions I'm increasingly interested in isn't whether we should use it. It's how we use it without slowly surrendering abilities we still want to possess ourselves.

Thinking. Discernment. Judgment. Creativity. Decision-making. The ability to sit with uncertainty long enough to discover what we actually believe.

Because AI presents us with an unusual temptation: We can receive an answer before we've formed a thought.

That is incredibly convenient. But convenience and development aren't always the same thing.

So I've started thinking about a small practice that could help. Before asking AI, give yourself 60 seconds.

The 60-Second Rule

Before you type the prompt, stop. Ask yourself: What do I think?

That's it. You don't need the perfect answer. You don't need to research it first. You don't even need to be right. Spend sixty seconds identifying your current thinking.

For example: Here's what I think the problem is. Here are the two options I'm considering. My instinct is telling me this. I think this argument is weak because... These are the three ideas I already have. I'm leaning toward this decision, and here's why.

Then bring in AI. Now the relationship changes. Instead of: Think for me. You're asking: Think with me.

Expansion Instead of Replacement

Imagine you're writing an article. You could type: Give me five ideas for an article about leadership. And within seconds, you'll have five.

But try something different. Spend one minute writing down your own three ideas first. Then ask: Here are the ideas I'm already considering. What am I missing? Challenge my assumptions. What other perspective could strengthen this?

Now AI isn't replacing the first stage of thinking. It's expanding it.

The same applies to decisions. Instead of: What should I do? Begin with: Here's what I'm leaning toward and why. What risks, assumptions, or perspectives might I be overlooking?

That subtle shift preserves something important: You remain inside the thinking process.

Socrates' observation still feels remarkably relevant:

The unexamined life is not worth living. — Socrates, in Plato's Apology

AI can help us examine our thinking. But first, we need some thinking of our own to examine.

Your First Thought Doesn't Have to Be Your Final Thought

There is another reason I like the 60-second practice. It gives you something to compare.

Maybe AI challenges your initial assumption. Good. Maybe it introduces information you didn't know. Good. Maybe you realize your first idea wasn't very strong. Also good.

The purpose isn't to prove that your thinking is better than AI. The purpose is to make sure your thinking happened.

And sometimes, after considering what AI gives you, you'll return to your original instinct with greater confidence. Other times you'll change your mind. Both are forms of thinking.

The important thing is that you haven't simply moved from question to machine-generated conclusion without ever stopping in the middle.

Try This Today

The next time you're about to open an AI tool, wait sixty seconds. Before you ask: What should I write? Ask yourself. Before: What should I say? Ask yourself. Before: Which option should I choose? Ask yourself. Before: What does this mean? Ask yourself.

Then invite AI into the conversation. Let it challenge you. Let it expand the possibilities. Let it surface blind spots. Let it help you research. Let it help you sharpen your language. But don't disappear from the process.

The goal isn't to prove that we can think without technology. It's to build a relationship with technology that still requires us to think.

So before you ask AI, ask yourself. What do I think? Then see what becomes possible when human judgment and artificial intelligence meet somewhere in the middle.