The Tools of Excellence

Number 21 of 70: The AI Buddy

An AI assistant-ChatGPT, Claude, or similar-is unlike any earlier tool we have discussed because it thinks with you. Need to refine an email? Draft a difficult conversation? Understand a complex topic? Generate ideas? Your AI buddy can, at once, without judgment, at any hour, with the simplest of briefings, support your own thinking and drafts.

This is not about replacing human connection; it’s about augmenting your capabilities. Think of it as having a tireless research assistant, writing coach, brainstorming partner, and patient explainer available instantly. Stuck on a problem at 11 PM? Ask. Need to understand a complicated geopolitical situation? Ask. Want feedback on your covering letter? Ask.

The quality of output depends entirely on the quality of your input. Vague briefings get vague answers. Specific, detailed prompts get genuinely helpful responses. Learn to prompt well: provide context, specify constraints, iterate on answers, and AI becomes very effective indeed.

My current preference is for Claude; I enjoy its speed, its ‘thinking,’ and its memory and anticipation.

What makes it a Tool of Excellence is accessibility and cost. World-class help is available for free or at a low price, requiring only an internet connection. There is no scheduling, no small talk, no feeling of imposition: just questions and answers, problems and solutions, ideas, and refinement. A subscription will bring unlimited assistance. That’s cognitive augmentation made accessible.

The Tools of Excellence book is here.