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The Assistant You Didn’t Know You Had

Everywhere you look, someone is debating AI:  is it useful, ethical, or even trustworthy? After all the noise, the verdict is still the same: inconclusive.  I’m not here to settle that debate. Instead, I want to show how AI can be used effectively without turning it from a tool into a crutch.

Why the Bad Rap?

First let's acknowledge something.  AI has an entirely different reputation depending on the context in which it is used.  In the corporate world, AI is often seen as a force multiplier while at the same time is derided as potentially displacing several thousand jobs.  The latter has most recently been seen in the elimination of 4,000 jobs at Salesforce all under the guise of AI being used to do mundane jobs that used to be filled by people.  (Whether this is true or not is a topic for a future discussion.)

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On a personal level, AI often gets dismissed, whether it’s in academics, fake Amazon reviews, or deepfakes. And who can blame people? From The Matrix to HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, pop culture has trained us to see AI as the villain.

Still, the allure of AI persists along with tricks to hide its fingerprints. For example, avoiding em-dashes (a dead giveaway in AI writing) or swapping out phrases like "resonates with me," which sounds about as fake as a knockoff watch on Canal Street.

How to Use AI for Good

Instead of gaming the system, treat AI as an Intelligent Assistant. Do the work yourself and let AI check for gaps.  Or flip it: let AI draft, then refine it with your own edits before giving it a final sanity check.

All along, you should be approaching the task with your critical thinking hat on.  Challenge assumptions.  Fill in gaps in knowledge - AI isn't omnipotent, after all.  Push back on statements made that have no basis in reality or are far enough removed from the truth that they wouldn't stand more than casual scrutiny.

A Practical Example

Here’s a practical example: I’m currently between jobs.  Each time this has happened, I execute the same plan after updating my resume and reaching out to close contacts first:  scour job sites for potential openings; compose a thoughtful cover letter; apply for the position; add the activity to a master spreadsheet so I can track it for my own purposes as well as for unemployment.  Repeat ad nauseum.

This time, I'm using ChatGPT to assist me in my search.  Specifically, I've fed it a few prior versions of my resume and augmented that with ad hoc recollections of specific skills and experiences along with anecdotal stories to provide examples of those skills and experiences.  Now, it has a very good foundation of knowledge about who I am and what I bring to the table.

Whenever I find a job opening I'm interested in, I then paste the job description into ChatGPT and ask it to look up the company, read the job description, and provide an assessment of my suitability for the role.  I read the feedback thoroughly, especially gaps that it identifies, and decide whether I should apply for the position.

If I choose to apply, I ask it to compose an initial cover letter draft.  When it's done, I read it carefully to identify problem areas in statements it made.  I also read for stylistic choices it makes, and often make several changes to the copy so that it is better aligned to how I would write the letter.  Finally, if there are any inaccuracies or, as noted above, statements that are a real stretch of the truth, I push back; provide the reason for the push back; and ask for the statement in question to be rewritten.

Is It Worth the Trouble?

You might ask, "Isn’t this more work than just writing it yourself?" Fair question. But the reality is that job hunting is exhausting - you repeat the same tasks until fatigue sets in, and quality slips. After a while, the brain becomes numb and you start producing results that do not meet your own standards of quality.  Having AI do the initial work and playing the role of the Project Manager allows me to focus on the result and not suffer from mental exhaustion along the way.

The finished result is still mine.  I’m just choosing where to spend my energy for the best chance of success. That’s the point: AI becomes IA, an Intelligent Assistant that helps but never replaces.

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