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How a Difficult College Class Taught Me to Use AI Better

  • Jan 28
  • 2 min read


My computer science professor said something that should have scared me: "This class is so hard, you can use all the AI help you want."


The Problem

I had to write complex programs in a language I'd never seen before. Imagine being asked to write a legal document in French after two weeks of French class! That's where I was.


At first, I did what everyone does - I asked the AI (Google's Gemini) for help. It gave me answers that didn't work. I told it the error. It gave me a different answer. Same error.


Again. Same problem. I thought, "This AI is useless."


Maybe you've felt the same way with ChatGPT?


What Changed Everything

Then I realized: The AI wasn't dumb. I was just talking to it wrong.


Think about asking for directions. If you just say, "I need to get downtown," the person might send you the wrong way. They don't know where you're starting from, if you're driving, or if Main Street is closed.


AI is exactly the same. When I started giving it more information (showing it what I'd already tried and being clearer about my problem), it suddenly could actually help me.


The Real Lesson

AI isn't magic. It's a conversation.


The better you explain what you need, the better it helps you. Now I can solve problems I never thought possible. Not because AI does it for me, but because working with AI helps me break huge, scary problems into smaller pieces.


Why You Should Care

You might think, "I'm not a college student learning programming."


But here's the thing: What I learned isn't about coding. It's about working with AI.


Need to plan a complicated trip? Write a difficult email? Understand a confusing bill? Organize a family event? AI can help with all of that. But only if you learn to guide the conversation.


How to Do It

You don't need to be technical. Just:

  1. Say what you're actually trying to do (not just "help me")

  2. Explain your situation

  3. Try again with more details if the first answer isn't right

  4. Think of it like a conversation, not a single question


The Bottom Line

I'm learning this in a hard college class. But you can learn it by solving everyday problems from your living room.


The AI is ready to help. You just need to learn how to ask.

 
 
 

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