One of the biggest questions around AI isn't whether we should use it.

It's what we should use it for.

AI can now write emails, organize info, compare options, help with homework, and connect with the tools we use every day. That's incredibly useful, but being good at AI doesn't mean handing everything over to it.

It means knowing what to hand over and what should stay yours.

Here's a simple way to think about it.

Delegate

Straightforward, lower-risk tasks AI usually handles pretty well:

• Formatting notes
• Creating checklists
• Organizing information
• Summarizing a document
• Turning a rough idea into a first draft

You still want to review the result, but these are tasks where AI saves time without replacing much of your own judgment.

Collaborate

Some tasks work better as a team:

• Planning a project
• Brainstorming ideas
• Comparing options
• Learning something unfamiliar
• Thinking through a tough decision

Here, AI shouldn't just hand you an answer. Ask it questions. Challenge its assumptions. Have it explain its reasoning and point out what's missing.

The goal is to use AI to improve your thinking, not skip thinking altogether.

Keep human

Some things should stay firmly in your hands:

• Personal judgment
• Sensitive conversations
• Final fact-checking
• Financial, legal or medical decisions
• Anything with serious consequences

AI can help you understand the situation, prep questions and consider different perspectives. But it shouldn't make the final call.

This same idea is showing up in AI education, too. OpenAI's new ChatGPT experience for teens emphasizes working through problems instead of just producing answers. Schools are teaching students how confidently AI can be wrong, and how to spot when an answer needs checking.

Honestly, that's a great lesson for us adults too.

A good AI interaction should leave you more informed and capable. It shouldn't just save you from having to engage with the problem.

One prompt to try this week

Next time you're working on something complicated:

Help me complete [describe the task], but don't take over the entire process. First, separate it into the parts I can safely delegate to AI, the parts we should work through together and the parts that should remain my responsibility. Explain your reasoning in plain English.

The big takeaway

Getting good at AI isn't learning how to hand over everything.

It's learning what to hand over, and what not to.

Chat with you next week!

– Steve

Want to get comfortable using AI every day, minus the overwhelm? That's exactly what AI Unlocked is for: 10 short, hands-on modules in plain English.

This post originally went out to my email list on August 24, 2026.