Ep. 1.5 | The First Step is Noticing

This is Generative AI

You’ve been playing with ChatGPT for a while, when it occurs to you: Wait… what exactly is this thing?

Let’s talk about what’s happening under the hood.

🔄 Generative AI

Generative AI refers to any technology that creates new content—words, images, videos, code—based on patterns it has learned.

It's not pulling from a database or copy-pasting from somewhere. It’s generating fresh material every time you ask. That’s why it can write a poem, a product description, or a bedtime story that feels made just for you.

In fact, the last 4 sentences were written by Gen-AI!

🗣️ Prompt

A “prompt” is just the thing you say to the AI. It can be a question, a command, a paragraph of instructions, or a single word.

The more thoughtful your prompt, the more useful the result. If you’ve ever typed “write an email apologizing for a late order, but make it friendly and sincere,” well that’s a prompt. Think of it like placing an order at a restaurant: the clearer you are, the better the meal.

Where Does Generative AI Come From?

In the example above, there is a search for “what is banana bread?”
The AI Overview is generated from a Large Language Model, or LLM.

The LLM in this example is a large memory of massive amounts of text.
Enormous chunks of the public internet, books, articles…

That data is a critical ingredient.

Humans will then fine-tune the model to make it better, and then we get to use it!

We can see these models in the form of chatbots, like ChatGPT, and search helpers like Google’s AI Overview.

(Making all of this possible, there’s some pretty incredible architecture, so we’ll have to talk about hardware later on.)

🪞 The Illusion of Personality

Here’s the tricky part: AI sounds human. It can seem funny, helpful, wise, even emotional.

The good? It’s available 24/7. It’s versatile, won’t judge you, or quit because it’s tired.

Remember, the model’s strength is patterns. When you give it a prompt, it doesn’t know anything in the way humans do. It’s just reflecting patterns in language it’s learned from the internet.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to it. It just means you should be the one steering.

👣 Where This Is Headed

AI is becoming a background presence in how we communicate, work, learn, conduct commerce. And most of us are just starting to notice that.

This journal is here to help you notice sooner + navigate better.

No matter where you are onboarding AI into your life:

The first step is noticing.

If you know someone who would enjoy this content,

Here’s what’s coming next :

Thursdays: We’ll cover foundational LLM and AI concepts. (Don’t worry—I put the cookies on the lower shelf, where anyone can reach ‘em. I teach advanced concepts in simple, bite-sized chunks that anyone can understand.)

Tuesdays: The next episode with Chip & Scoops, a couple of AI-curious friends just like you.
(Catch up on the last episode here)