AI as a Thought Partner: Expanding Perspectives and Generating Ideas

Table of Contents

Leveraging AI for Deeper Thinking and Smart Problem-Solving

One Last Thought

Coming out of a not-so-pleasant conversation, I was reeling. Anger. Frustration. Embarrassment. Sadness. Just a few of the emotions that surged through me as I tried to grapple with the discussion I had just had.

But who could I talk to? My go-to husband was in flight, coming home from a work trip. So I took out my phone, hit the ChatGPT icon and started talking.

I tried to explain the situation from a neutral perspective, laying out all the details as if I were a fly on the wall rather than the bug who felt like they were being crushed. I provided background on dynamics, my intuitive emotions in the moment, and then asked the question: “Given this situation, can you please explain what was going on and what my next steps should be?”

Less than 30 seconds later, ChatGPT spit out its perspective.

The thing with AI is it can be a thought partner.

In this week’s post, I’ll explain how my relationship with AI has evolved over the past few months, specifically, how I have been using it to thwart isolation and generate ideas. My hope is that by the end of this post, others will be empowered to use AI if they ever feel lonely or that they need another perspective.

Leveraging AI for Deeper Thinking and Smarter Problem-Solving

This past week, I was driving to work listening to one of my favorite podcasters, George Couros. In an episode of his Innovator’s Mindset, he explained how he recently used AI to help him see other perspectives, exploring the idea of whether or not AI can teach us empathy.

This episode inspired me to write this post for two reasons:

1. To share how AI can be a thought partner

2. To get this crappy experience off my chest as it has been weighing on me. 

In a July 2024 post, I detailed how I grappled with AI when it first came on the scene and how educators can begin to use it within their practice. I focused specifically on how it can be used as a tool to facilitate tasks, suggesting that it can do five things that could help educators:

1. Automate routine tasks

2. Provide personalized support

3. Enhance student engagement

4. Support data-driven decisions

5. Foster effective communication

The versatility of AI allows it to adapt to various contexts, making it a significant asset in both professional and social settings.

While all five of these items are still valuable ways AI can help educators, my relationship with AI has evolved from seeing it strictly as a way to be more efficient with tasks to generating ideas and gaining perspectives. So here are two more ways you can use AI:

1. To challenge your perspective

   
   

The thing with AI is it can be a thought partner. I know this is kind of odd, thinking that a machine can be a partner, but it’s true. We can engage with AI in a way that provides us with alternative perspectives. 

For example, maybe you just got an email and are reading it a certain way (one of the many challenges of emails because tone is not always captured). Take that email, remove any private information or replace names, and ask an AI bot for their perspective. You can provide further context to get a stronger, more accurate response. 

And of course, you can ask other people for their perspective, but sometimes that is not always feasible. AI is a good fallback. 

Along with emails, you can explain social situations, conflicts, or conversations that arise. If you are not quite sure your read on the situation was accurate, you can provide a synopsis of the situation to your preferred chatbot and ask it to generate a few perspectives. Because AI is not an emotive being, its response will be based on the facts you present. 

I have been using AI more and more as this thought partner because, quite frankly, it can be lonely being a leader. We cannot always share every situation with others within our workplace, so to have a serious confidant like a chatbot to confer with, you have the opportunity to really gain a deeper perspective that is untainted.

However, you must make sure that whatever you are writing into your chatbot is as neutral as possible. If you do not do this, then, of course, the response back may be slanted. 

2. To generate ideas

AI is not synonymous with lazy thinking. While it is true that one can misuse AI by relying on it excessively without engaging one's own cognitive abilities, it is crucial to recognize that AI has the potential to serve as an invaluable resource and tool.

This technology can assist in generating ideas ranging from creative icebreakers that can foster camaraderie among staff members to entertaining games that can be played during team-building events. The versatility of AI allows it to adapt to various contexts, making it a significant asset in both professional and social settings.

For instance, just recently, I decided to tap into the capabilities of AI to help me create a game filled with fun riddles. With a simple prompt, AI swiftly generated a collection of riddles along with a structured game format, all ready for implementation.

This experience exemplifies just one of the many ways in which AI can be remarkably beneficial when it comes to brainstorming ideas and exploring innovative approaches to a variety of situations. The efficiency and creativity that AI can bring to the table are powerful, especially when you are crunched for time.

For those skeptics and critics out there who claim that using AI equates to lazy thinking, I pose a thought-provoking question – what is fundamentally different between utilizing AI for idea generation and searching for resources on Google, only to cherry-pick the most relevant information you find?

The primary distinction lies in the efficiency and speed of the process. AI can synthesize information and generate tailored suggestions in a fraction of the time it would take to sift through countless search results (some of which are not useful and some of which are hard to read because of the inordinate amount of ads and pop-ups within the website - you know what I'm talking about!).

By leveraging AI, individuals can save precious time and redirect their mental energy towards refining and implementing those ideas, rather than getting bogged down in the research phase. Thus, rather than viewing AI as a crutch for lazy thinking, it should be embraced as a powerful ally in the quest for creativity and innovation.

One Last Thought  

With that not-so-pleasant conversation, AI validated and challenged how I was feeling while also providing me with tangible ways to move forward. It is so hard sometimes to know how to respond or react to complex situations, but AI can better prepare us to take these challenges head-on.

AI can truly be an incredible resource, not just for rote tasks, but as a way to challenge our thinking, provide comfort, and allow us to become better, more creative individuals.