Me, Myself and AI: 5 Tips for Leveling Up Your AI Skills

I have a simple question for you. If you could borrow time from the future, how would you use it?

A. Time for self

B. Time for relationships

C. Time for making money

D. Time for learning

Of these answers, guess which one affords you to do all the others effectively? If you guessed "D" — you guessed correctly. Let me explain.

People generally say, “I don’t have time to learn”. I've found out the hard way that this is a mistake because you are robbing yourself. Years ago, I used to feel that I didn’t have time for learning as I juggled home, family, job, and working overtime. Then the realization hit me. I was robbing my future self by only thinking about today. At the pace I was on, in 5 years I would still be in the same cycle. And ultimately, I had no one to blame but me, myself, and I.

Why "Learning" is Always the Answer

If you did not choose letter "D" in my quiz, let's take a brief look at how "time for learning" supports the other answers. A) Learning about yourself helps you understand how you can improve your wellbeing and gain a more meaningful life. B) Learning to build healthy relationships illuminates your ability to deepen your connection with family, friends, and colleagues. These are the people who will introduce you to other people who can help advance your career. C) Having a goal to make money can feel like being on a treadmill…unless you are learning new skills that will help increase your value and productivity. D) Learning is the means that will help you reach your goals and reap the benefits of your investment.

So, if you could borrow time from the future, it would be well spent on learning. OR, you could just reprioritize how you are using your time today and MAKE TIME for learning.

Make Learning Practical to Stay Engaged

As a learning professional, the wisdom I have gained over the the years brings into focus this new paradigm we are experiencing. On one hand, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find time to learn something new, while on the other hand learning is imperative to staying relevant. What I am about to tell you is exactly what I am doing — applying the same practical learning principles to stay abreast of the changes in artificial intelligence.

Recently, I participated on a panel of my peers from various companies discussing our experiences with artificial intelligence. The event was sponsored by Google in Atlanta and was the first in a series to build a community around AI. I didn’t know what to expect but I felt like I had to contribute to this important conversation. Not only did I share my insights, but I was enlightened by the conversation, and made new friends. Check out a post by Anqui Zou for a summary from the panelists.

When I was writing this article, the media headlines consisted of big tech companies delivering AI and Gen AI solutions fast and furious. From voice-enabled large language models (LLMs), AI sites providing users with the output from various LLMs, AI-enabled laptops, and digital humans…and we are on a journey to where? No one knows precisely just yet.

As I read articles and blogs, watched video interviews, and listened to podcasts and other media sources, I started to reflect on the “how.” If this is the pace of change, how can we rationally stay abreast of all the activities that may impact our jobs and lives? Keep reading to find out some simple solutions.

Keep it Simple: Choose a Niche to Explore

Since OpenAI launched its ChatGPT service to the world two years ago, generative AI has become an increasingly important mainstream topic across various sectors. From academia to automotive, governments to energy, medicine to retail, and everything in between, everyone is working on a business strategy that includes Gen AI. Even as I type this article in my online blog editor, the application is offering word suggestions that align with the topic I am writing about — and it’s pretty close to accurate for my preferred word choices.

If you have not been exploring Gen AI tools, you should start because this is not a fad. Choosing a niche or topic can make learning about Gen AI easier. There are many areas to delve into, but the current in-demand skills include experience with prompt engineering, machine learning, governance models, neural networks, natural language processing, computer vision, critical thinking, data science and analysis, and big data technologies, among others.

Here are 5 tips to help you level up on your AI skills:

1. Read to Lead— Reading is the quickest way to acclimate yourself to this technology and the terminology. You can follow AI newsletters on LinkedIn, sign up for news digests, read the latest books on Amazon Kindle, or subscribe to Blinkist for business books in bite-sized chunks.
2. Stay in the Know — New developments in AI happen practically every day. Here’s a concise way to learn about new events without overloading your inbox or brain. Create a Google alert for your area of interest and watch all the news come to you in a single daily digest. Read the headlines, then decide what you want to dig deeper into.
3. Take Free Courses — Did you know big tech companies are providing free access to courses in AI technologies? Obviously free courses benefits everyone, but having a solid career plan will help you be strategic about which courses you invest your time in. Take advantage of expert courses in everything from AI literacy (foundational topics) to advanced tech. Check out this list of free courses on Forbes .
4. Use Free Tools — In addition to giving away courses, a lot of startup AI companies are giving you their tools for free (right now). We know their aim is to build awareness while they also collect data and enhance their product, but so what? We get to explore with all kinds of tools to see what features exist to make us more productive, or to know what is possible. NOTE: Please be cautious about entering personal or proprietary info in an AI tool — just saying.
5. Practice Makes Perfect — Having access to tools is one thing, but actually using them is what makes the difference. Explore the tools that interest you and see how they may help you become more efficient. (One of my favorite tools is Perplexity , which is an LLM that provides the sources for the information it shares.)

BONUS: Learn While You Earn — If your employer is working to implement an AI strategy, this might be an opportunity for you to get on-the-job-training. Find out where you may be able to help support the effort. From developing use cases to piloting tools, as well as building out the infrastructure for more technical professionals, there may be something for everyone.

If you found this information useful, please "like" my post and share it with your colleagues. And whatever you do, keep learning!

~Stacey

Stacey Young Rivers, Ph.D. is a talent development leader with expertise in developing strategies to close skills gaps, build talent pipelines, and create internal career mobility models. Dr. Rivers is also a mom, author , and researcher .