Stop Asking for Answers—Start Playing 20 Questions with AI 

How to truly get more productive with AI

SUMMARY

Most people do not become more productive by using AI. Why? Because they use it wrong. When used the wrong way, AI amplifies the human bias to “get to the right answer quickly.” This, in turn, makes people converge on mediocre solutions more quickly rather than encouraging greater exploration for better solutions by working with AI instead of using it. To avoid these pitfalls, you can do the following:

· Swap “Oracle” for “Teammate” — treat the AI model as a back-and-forth collaborator, not a one-shot answer machine.

· Idea Volume Beats Idea Quality — generate lots of diverse prompts; breakthroughs ride on the tails of the distribution.

· Fight Satisficing & Einstellung — regenerate outputs, probe alternatives, and resist the reflex to stop at “good enough.”

· Flip the Script — ask the AI to question you first; its clarifiers surface hidden assumptions and sharpen the brief.

· Chain-of-Thought + Self-Critique — request the model’s reasoning steps and have it grade or rebut its own draft.

· Regenerate Ruthlessly — three-plus rerolls widen the possibility space faster than human brainstorming alone.

· Voice Over Keyboard — dictation removes “finger bottlenecks,” enabling richer, quicker ideation dumps.

· Role-Play Difficult Talks — simulate negotiations/performance reviews with persona prompts to rehearse, stress-test, and refine tactics.

· Package Workflows as Custom GPTs — encode repeatable processes once; share to multiply impact across teams.

· Drill Daily (15 min) — small, consistent practice sessions turn tips into reflexive fluency.

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Estimated reading time: 8-10 mins.

Stanford University's Professor Jeremy Utley argues that effectively tapping into the great potential of generative AI for heightened creativity, problem-solving, and productivity requires a major shift in human mindset and mode of engagement. He says that users must shift from viewing AI as a passive 'oracle' that outputs perfect answers towards viewing it, instead, as an active 'teammate' or 'collaborator' with which one engages in iterative, conversational practice. This unlocks the complete potential of AI to amplify human imagination and achieve excellent outcomes that are greater than settling for just 'good enough'. Utley develops his recommendations through several related arguments founded on his teaching at Stanford University, research, and co-authorship of the book Idea Flow. I have put together the most relevant stuff from his research below, and the sources from which this information has been fetched are mentioned at the very end. The first section deals with the mechanics of human ideas, the second elaborates on how to achieve a mindset that maximizes the benefits accruing from AI, and the third lists the techniques to get the most out of it.

The Mechanics of Human Ideas: From Quantity to Quality

1. The Importance of Idea Flow: Quantity Over Quality for Creative Outcomes: Utley believes that the key thing to create quality ideas is the quantity of ideas generated. He maintains that a majority of individuals harbor a false belief that ideas are scarce and hard to find; however, in reality, they are limitless and easy to generate once an individual gets the right attitude and methodologies. Ideas, like most things in nature, are normally distributed, meaning that a few are bad, a few are good, and the majority are mediocre. In order to get more ideas at the extremes (the very good ones), one must increase the overall volume of ideas. Volume and variability are presented as the two key levers available to an innovator.

2. Traditional Methods for Cultivating Idea Flow: Before introducing AI's role, Utley discusses established practices for bringing about this necessary volume and variability of ideas.

   • Keeping a "Bug List": Listing problems that are frustrating or problematic is an excellent method for stimulating inspiration and unveiling new problems worthy of being solved. This directly confronts the most prevalent, albeit misguided, leadership edict which states, "don't bring me problems, bring me solutions". Rather, a good leader embraces problems as gateways to innovation and transformation.

   • Maintaining an "Idea Quota": Practicing generating a given number of ideas, say ten, each day changes one's orientation from quality (searching for just good ideas) to quantity (generating many ideas without concern for their quality at this stage). The regular practice is akin to weight training in that it remaps neural connections to develop fluidity and versatility in generating options when faced with adversity.

   • The "Wonder Wander": Physically moving away from the comfort of your familiar surroundings and seeking new relationships among unrelated elements is a way of exercising "out of the box" thinking by, quite literally, moving outside of the box. A few instances of this are walking around and looking at things (a fireplace, a scooter, a basketball hoop, an Amazon delivery van, Nike shoes) and considering how they relate to or challenge the mind on a current issue, such as outlining a new solution or exciting individuals with an idea such as AI.

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