In AI, It's All About the Questions

AI has people convinced that the secret is in the answers. Faster answers, fancier answers, endless answers. But if I've learned one thing during my half-century waltz across our solar system, answers are fine, but the real magic is in the questions.

Let's be clear: AI isn’t magic. It’s not a therapist, a teacher, or the love of your life (though some folks online are giving it their best shot). It’s more akin to a car—it goes where you steer it.

When I type: “Give me dinner ideas,” I get a Pinterest graveyard of random casseroles. But if I ask: “I have chicken, mac & cheese, and mixed veggies—what can I make without dirtying every pan in the kitchen?” suddenly I’ve got options I might actually cook on a Tuesday night.

Same with teaching. “Make me a lesson on Shakespeare” gets me something bland and generic. But “How do I introduce Macbeth to a teenager who loves horror movies and struggles with reading stamina?” — now I’ve got something with traction.

Right now we’re living in what feels like the democratized age of AI. Anyone with an internet connection can log in, experiment, and play. That’s powerful—it feels a lot like the early internet, when access itself was revolutionary. But let’s be clear: access isn’t the same as power. The real levers—massive computing resources, training data, and policy decisions—still sit in the hands of a few big players. Which makes it even more important that the rest of us learn to steer, while the road is still open.

The trick is asking better questions. Not just with AI, but in life. Because the answers have never really been the point. Curiosity, clarity, and courage in your questions? That’s where growth happens.

AI is like a car: the sharper your questions, the better you steer.

✨ Don’t panic. AI is only as good as the questions you ask.

Top Tips for Asking Better Questions

1. Get specific. “Recipe” is vague; “rice, beans, eggs in under 20 minutes” gets results.

   
   

2. Add context. Who’s it for? What’s the goal? AI works best when it knows the situation.

   
   

3. Stay curious. Try “what if” and “why” instead of only “give me.”

   
   

4. Test and refine. If the first answer misses, tweak the question and try again. Steering takes practice.

Pause and ask yourself what you’re doing and why. There are no quick fixes here. If your question is too open, you’ll drift. Too narrow, and you’ll stall. But when you hit the Goldilocks zone — not too vague, not too limited— you may find yourself moving toward something real.

AI has the potential to take you all kinds of places, and I recommend trying it out. Just remember: you’re the human. Stay curious, stay present, and actually be one.