An Introductory Note to the 'Journey of Understanding' to Avoid Being Swayed by AI (Summary of Parts 0-6)
Hello, this is Tetsuya.
When using AI, you often encounter situations where
it doesn't respond as you expected,
it feels slightly off even though you thought you explained it clearly,
or it becomes even more vague the more you try to rephrase it.
I used to think these were problems on the AI's side.
Is the performance insufficient?
Is my phrasing bad?
Should I be using a different tool?
However, what I gradually began to see was that
the problem actually lay much further upstream.
This 'Journey of Understanding' is not a series for learning how to operate AI.
It is a series that gradually puts into words what becomes ambiguous within ourselves when interacting with AI, where our confusion arises, and what we need to organize to reduce that confusion.
This time, I have compiled the content from Part 0 to Part 6, which are currently available, into a form that is easy to read back as a single entry point and a complete overview.
What becomes clear through these seven articles
In the seven articles so far, we have followed the following points in order.
Why do we stop every time the tool changes?
When the AI seems confused, what is actually ambiguous?
When things are off even after explaining carefully, what is missing?
In what order should information be provided to make it easier to process?
How should one start creating that order?
When it still stops, what is the final thing that is missing?
In other words, this is not a story about learning how to use AI,
but a story about how to organize your own thoughts before handing them over to the AI.
What humans should think about and what can be left to the AI.
As the boundary between those two becomes clearer, the AI changes from a 'difficult-to-understand partner' into a quite reliable one.
Introduction to each article
[Part 0] A sudden service termination. The day I, an AI beginner, decided to 'not depend on tools'.
The starting point for this series was the discontinuation of an AI tool I had been using for a long time.
What troubled me wasn't simply that the tool would no longer be available.
The biggest thing was the feeling of, 'Do I have to learn everything all over again?'
Every time a new tool comes out, I learn how to operate it, and just when I've finally gotten used to it, I move on to another tool. In that repetition, I felt like I was intending to use the tools, but in reality, I was being pushed around by them.
That was the feeling I had.
So, I changed my way of thinking a little.
Before relearning how to operate a new tool, I first had the AI organize the flow of how I wanted to proceed.
What became clear then was that what remains is not the 'operation' but the 'process'.
👉 Read Part 0
[Part 1] It's not that the AI is confused, but that things were vague within me
When the AI's responses were blurry, I used to think,
'Maybe its performance isn't good enough yet.'
'Maybe I need to phrase things better.'
I would think like that.
But in reality, at the stage before that, there were times when the outline within myself was vague.
What do I want to create?
How far do I want to go?
What do I want to value the most?
If you rush the AI for an answer while those things are still not settled, what comes back will naturally be blurry.
Situations where the AI seems confused can sometimes be a direct reflection of our own confusion. In Part 1, I organized the primary cause of that.
👉 Read Part 1
[Part 2] Why the AI goes off-track even when I explain things carefully
'Even though I'm explaining it carefully, for some reason it goes off-track.'
This feeling also happens often when using AI.
Even when I increase the words, add background information, and try to explain as clearly as possible, what comes back is slightly different.
The problem at that time might not be a lack of information, but that the outline of the decision-making criteria is vague.
So, in Part 2, I set up three perspectives—purpose, boundaries, and priorities—as a backbone to keep the AI from getting confused.
No matter how carefully you speak, if these three are not visible, it becomes difficult for the AI to grasp 'what it should focus on.'
👉 Read Part 2
[Part 3] The reason it doesn't get across to the AI well is because the 'order' is off
Up to this point, we have looked at vagueness within ourselves and a lack of decision-making criteria as reasons why the AI goes off-track.
So, once those become a little clearer, what should be organized next?
That is where the order comes in.
Even when providing the same content,
what do you start talking about?
Which information do you place first?
What kind of flow do you use to assemble it?
Just by those differences, the way AI receives it changes significantly.
It is not that the amount of information is insufficient, but that the arrangement is not organized, making it difficult for the AI to act.
In Part 3, we organized the 'importance of order' from that perspective.
👉 Read Part 3
[Part 4] Even with the same content, the arrangement changes things this much
What became clear in Part 3 was that how information is conveyed changes not only by quantity but also by order.
In Part 4, we advance that discussion to something closer to a tangible experience.
Even if the content itself is the same,
what do you put first?
What do you leave for later?
What kind of flow do you use to show it?
Just by those differences, the AI's response changes surprisingly.
In other words, what is important when conveying to AI is
not just 'whether you have the information',
but also how you arrange and provide that information.
In Part 4, we organized the importance of order in a way that you can feel more concretely.
👉 Read Part 4
[Part 5] Order is not created after thinking, but created while dividing
Up to Part 4, it became clear that order and arrangement change the results.
So, how should that order be created?
In Part 5, we organize the way of thinking that serves as the entrance to that.
What is important is not to create a perfect sentence all at once from the beginning,
but to first try dividing the content into small pieces.
And then, it is to arrange what to put first and what to put later little by little.
For example,
Empathy
Problem
Reassurance
Action
Result
If you create an order after dividing by role like this,
it becomes easier to organize for yourself, and easier to provide to the AI.
In Part 5, through a very simple method of 'dividing before arranging', we look at the first pattern for creating an order.
👉 Read Part 5
[Part 6] The reason why you still stop even if you understand the order
So far, we have looked at ways to keep AI from getting lost, including ambiguity, criteria for judgment, order, arrangement, and the method of 'sorting before arranging'.
Even so, it can still stall.
This is because, before creating an order,
the judgment of what criteria to choose in the first place
still remains.
How much should be included?
What should be prioritized?
Where should it stop?
What do you want to value?
If this 'map of judgment' remains ambiguous, even if you can create an order, you will eventually stall somewhere.
In Part 6, following the series so far, I write about how the final thing needed before handing it over to AI might be the core of judgment.
👉 Read Part 6
To summarize these seven articles in one word
In Part 0, an entry point for not relying on tools.
In Part 1, your own ambiguity that exists before AI's confusion.
In Part 2, how that ambiguity appears in how information is handed over.
In Part 3, in what order that information is handed over.
In Part 4, how the results change depending on the arrangement even with the same content.
In Part 5, how to start creating that order.
In Part 6, the 'map of judgment' that remains when it still stalls we have looked at.
In other words, many of the stumbling blocks in AI utilization are not problems with the tools, but problems with organizing before handing them over. These seven articles are structured to build that organization one step at a time.
What I want to do in this series is not to view AI as omnipotent or to speak about it in a difficult way.
It is to find a way that is less likely to lead to confusion while separating what humans think about and what can be left to AI.
If you feel this way, it is recommended to read from here
If you,
feel swayed every time a tool changes
want to organize the reasons why AI responses are off-base in words rather than by feeling
want to establish a foundation of thinking before learning how to operate it
want to know not only what to hand over to AI, but also how to arrange it
want to organize not only how to create an order, but also the core of judgment that precedes it
If you feel this way, these seven articles will surely be an entry point.
If you are reading for the first time, please read in order from Part 0.
If you currently feel that 'AI responses are off-base', it is okay to start from Part 1 or Part 2.
If you want to organize the 'concept of order', start from Part 3.
If you want to check with practical examples, start from Part 4 to Part 5.
If you feel that you tend to stop at the final wall, I think it is easier to grasp the flow if you continue reading up to Part 6.
What I have come to see by reaching the final installment
What I have come to see through this series is that mastering AI is not about memorizing clever prompts.
What was truly necessary was,
to notice your own ambiguity
to organize the materials for judgment
to arrange the order
and finally, to have your own criteria for what you choose
was it.
AI is not an entity that will do the thinking for you.
However, when you organize your thoughts and refine how you pass them on, it becomes a very strong partner.
The 'Journey of Understanding' concludes here for now, but I hope these seven articles serve as a small map for rethinking how you interact with AI.
'Journey of Understanding' Link List
If you are new here, it is easier to grasp the overall flow by starting with this summary article.
Part 0 | Sudden Service Termination. The Day I, an AI Beginner, Decided Not to 'Depend on Tools'
Part 1 | It wasn't the AI that was confused, it was my own ambiguity
Part 2 | Why AI misses the mark even when I explain carefully
Part 4 | Same content, but the arrangement changes everything
Part 6 | Why I still get stuck even after understanding the 'order'
Finally
If you feel that you need to organize your own 'way of thinking' more than you need to learn 'how to use' AI right now,
I hope this 'Journey of Understanding' can serve as your first gateway.
I would be happy if this serves as the first step for you.
If there is even one place where you feel,
'I might have this in me too,'
please feel free to take a look at the rest.
If any part resonated with you, it would encourage me if you could let me know by clicking the 'like' button.
#AIUtilization #AIforBeginners #OrganizingThoughts #JourneyOfUnderstanding #AIfor60s #RelearningAfterRetirement