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A stranger at a coffee shop made me rethink how I use AI search tools
Was chatting with this retired librarian in Portland yesterday, and she said she treats AI like a reference desk instead of a search box, asking it for sources and methods rather than answers... now I'm trying that approach with my research and it's way more useful. Anyone else find that framing helps or is it just me?
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dylan_green5826d ago
...and here I was thinking I was being clever by asking it to write my grocery list in the form of a haiku. Turns out the actual trick is treating it like a librarian who's had way too much coffee and knows everything but won't just give you the answer without making you work for it. I tried the reference desk thing with a work project and ended up down a rabbit hole of old research papers I didn't even know existed. It's definitely slower than just typing "what's the answer" and getting a paragraph, but I feel like I actually understand the thing now instead of just copy pasting. Though I'll admit, sometimes I just want the quick answer so I can move on with my life. So yeah, it's useful, but it's also a bit like asking for directions and getting a map instead of just being told to turn left.
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