In the new podcast episode, we discuss «Co-Intelligence» by American instructor Ethan Mollick—a guide to living alongside a new type of conversational partner: highly capable, fast, but unpredictable. Everything you’ve wanted to know about interacting with AI but were afraid to ask. Masha, who still tells AI «thank you, ” and Natasha, who understands how it works, both found the book enjoyable and useful.
The core idea of the book is simple and vital: AI is no longer just a tool like a search engine or a text editor. It is becoming a «second intelligence”—a partner with whom one can think, debate, ideate, learn, and work.
However, Mollick cautions against two equally unhelpful extremes: the euphoria of „AI will solve everything“ and the fear that „AI will take everything from us.“ Generative AI can indeed write an email, propose a project concept, explain a complex topic, help prepare for a conversation, or serve as a creative partner. But it can also confidently make mistakes, fabricate facts, and reproduce persuasive nonsense. Therefore, responsibility, taste, verification, and the final decision remain with the human.
The author proposes four rules for coexisting with AI:
— invite AI into the workflow: test it across diverse tasks and personally observe its strengths and weaknesses;
— remain human „in the loop“: do not delegate critical thinking, ethical judgments, or fact-checking to the machine;
— converse with AI as if it were a person, but clearly define its role, context, and objective;
— remember: today’s AI is likely the worst AI we will ever have to use.
In short: the best use of AI is not to have it do everything for us—live, solve, or create—but to use it to ask more precise questions, expedite the preliminary stages, and retain what is essential: choice, meaning, and authorship.
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