I collect baseball and non-sport cards. I started collecting when I was a kid, stopped for about 40 years, and returned to collecting again, maybe as part of a mid-life crisis. I don’t have the patience today though, that I had when I was 12. For example, yesterday I wanted to find out the most valuable cards in the 1985 Topps baseball set. Instead of Googling, I asked ChatGPT, who confidently produced a list of cards, including each card’s number (cards have unique numbers within a set), player’s name, and value. The results didn’t seem right, though, and after confirming with an online resource, I realized that ChatGPT had gotten the card numbers right, but the players’ names associated with each card were completely wrong. I tried explaining this to ChatGPT, which seemed to get upset with me, and to summarize, said curtly (paraphrased), “If you would like me to provide better results, provide me with better data.”
I find that I have a complex relationship with AI. I started studying AI back in college, so to date myself, I took my first class on AI in 1987. I know how AI works (sort of), and yet I sometimes feel a mix of emotions, including both awe and fear, as to what AI can do. Many experts in the industry feed on these two emotions and promote the end of civilization, describing a future scene similar to the opening scene in “The Terminator.”
“Rewiring Your Mind for AI,” by David Wood, has a different take. If I were to summarize the book in one sentence, it would be that we should use AI to become better people. The book is about how to change your perspective to get the most from AI and improve your life in the process.
I’ve read the book more than once, and I think about some of the messages in the book often. I don’t want to spoil the read for you by revealing too much, but I like very much the history section that discusses that we’ve been here before — for example, with technology like the calculator. I also like the message that AI helps beginners do the impossible.
Below is an excerpt from Chapter 5 (used with permission from Technics Publications), that introduces this idea of doing the impossible:
In 1954, Roger Bannister achieved what many believed was physically impossible—he ran a mile in under four minutes. For decades, the four-minute mile had been a psychological barrier, not just a physical one. Experts and athletes alike deemed it unachievable, arguing that the human body could not endure the strain of such a feat without catastrophic consequences. The prevailing mindset of the time was that breaking this barrier was a limit not only of physiology, but also of human potential itself. Bannister shattered that mindset.
On May 6, 1954, in Oxford, England, Bannister crossed the finish line in three minutes and 59.4 seconds. His record-breaking run was not only a triumph of physical endurance and mental discipline but, perhaps most importantly, a triumph of mindset. Bannister had trained differently—not just physically but mentally. He visualized the possibility of success, disregarding the doubts of skeptics and leaning on his belief that the barrier was more psychological than physiological. His achievement was not just about speed but about challenging the deeply held belief of what was possible.
The fascinating part of this story is what happened next. Within just a year of Bannister’s record-breaking run, several other athletes broke the same barrier. What had been impossible suddenly became achievable for a handful of others, despite no revolutionary advancements in training or technology during that time. The key difference was a shift in mindset. Bannister’s feat redefined what humans believed they could accomplish, opening the gates for others to follow.
The mass release of AI technologies is causing a similar reconsideration of what is humanly possible in terms of work productivity. Consider, for instance, the creative challenge of composing music.
For centuries, music creation has been viewed as an intensely human and time-consuming process. Some of the most celebrated works in history took years, even decades, to complete. Ludwig van Beethoven, for example, labored over his Symphony No. 9 for nearly ten years, crafting what many consider one of the greatest achievements in Western music. Similarly, Johann Sebastian Bach’s The Art of Fugue, a monumental exploration of counterpoint, remained a lifelong endeavor that was left unfinished upon his death. These masterpieces stand as symbols of the immense dedication, skill, and perseverance required to create enduring art.
In contrast, iconic musical works like Handel’s Messiah, which was composed in an astonishing 24 days, stand as testaments to human ingenuity, discipline, and skill. While this timeframe remains impressive, it pales in comparison to the rapid composition of smaller works by other artists. Mozart famously wrote the overture to Don Giovanni overnight, and Paul McCartney woke up with the melody to Yesterday essentially ready in his mind, completing it in mere hours. Nonetheless, even these instances required profound mastery of music theory, instrumentation, and creative vision—reflecting the blend of talent and effort that distinguished these musicians.
Yet today, AI has begun to challenge the boundaries of creativity and speed. Tools like Suno.AI, a generative AI platform for music, enable users to compose music in mere seconds. Unlike Handel laboring over manuscripts or even McCartney refining a melody, AI can generate complex, multi-layered musical compositions almost instantly. These tools can produce songs with full orchestration, vocal harmonies, and rhythm, all tailored to specific moods or styles simply by inputting a prompt. Furthermore, they can make things that never existed. Have you ever heard of a banjo and oboe playing a jazz duet? What about punk-rock polka fusion performed by a didgeridoo? After writing that, maybe some of these combinations don’t exist for a reason!
David Wood’s concise writing style, combined with his sense of humor and important messages on how we interact with AI, make “Rewiring Your Mind for AI” a must-read for all of us.
