How to Build an AI Habit Without Losing Your Edge | Stay Sharp in the Age of Automation
The Risk of Easy Wins
Every major technology has a hidden cost. Horses made people less likely to walk. Cars replaced horses...and bikes. Now e-bikes mean kids don’t even turn the pedals on most days. GPS apps like Google Maps have been shown to dull our innate sense of direction and spatial memory (Dahmani & Bohbot, 2020). And who remembers phone numbers anymore? Research has shown that reliance on smartphones for contact information correlates with poorer memory recall (Storm & Stone, 2015). Even automation in workplaces has been linked to declines in cognitive engagement and skill atrophy (Parasuraman & Riley, 1997).
When we outsource too much, we atrophy the very skills that made us valuable. But AI can also act as a training partner. One that forces you to think better, faster, and sharper. The difference is how you use it.
The Balancing Act: Adapt Without Atrophying
If you worked in construction all day, you probably wouldn’t need to go to the gym after work. But if you spend ten hours staring into a box of pixels, you do have to make the time to move. We’re starting to see the same pattern emerge with knowledge work and AI: when the tools do the lifting for you, you have to be more intentional about keeping your cognitive muscles strong.
People have resisted innovation since the dawn of time. There were groups opposed to the printing press, the automobile, television, and the internet - and to be fair, many of their critiques were valid. But personally, I try to make it a habit not to fight what is. I don’t want to be the guy who sacrifices himself on the railroad tracks as the freight train of innovation barrels down on him. Instead, I’d rather adapt. But adapt wisely, in a way that keeps my edge sharp.
The Framework: Build an AI Habit That Strengthens You
Here’s a 5-part system you can use:
Start With You
Write your own draft, plan, idea first no matter how rough it is.
Then use AI to critique it, suggest improvements, and point out blind spots.
Prompt for Pushback
Stop asking for “answers” and start asking: “What’s wrong with this?” or “Argue the opposite.”
Use it as a devil’s advocate to toughen your thinking.
Batch, Don’t Blur
Set aside a fixed block of time for AI work so you don’t slip into constant dependency.
Keep deep work and AI work separate so you can still think clearly on your own.
Track Your Edge
Notice where AI makes you better and where it makes you lazier.
Regularly audit your work: Are your ideas still original? Is your judgment still sharp? Adjust accordingly.
Keep Those Human Connections Active
Knowledge work can already be very isolating, and the potential for AI to make it even more so is very likely - beginning now.
The optimist in me hopes that AI will take over a big part of the pixel-pushing minutia grind, allowing us to spend more time with each other. But until then, it can easily be another portal on your desktop to get lost in and drift further away from others.
Let generative AI be the push you've been waiting for to spend more time with others in person. Commit to x number of hours per week to have in-person human connections: coffees, lunches, community events.
Let It Sharpen You
“The tools we create end up creating us.”
AI can be a sharpening stone or a soft pillow. The choice is yours. Use it to test yourself, challenge yourself, and strengthen your habits; not to escape them.
Find your next edge,
Eli
