I’ve been working with generative AI since 2023. It began when I discovered Midjourney and was fascinated by the prospect of creating all the imagery my inner illustrator never developed the skill for – with words, which I do have a unique knack for. Then I discovered ChatGPT, and my educational journey began, innocently, like that of a school girl with a new book.

Soon though, the learning experience designer kicked in. I started experimenting critically, trying to pinpoint the line between where AI could be helpful, thorough, and accurate and where human expertise would be irreplaceable.

My first real test was against my own knowledge as an advanced equestrian coach. It did well at first but fell short quickly in specific case scenarios — the kind where a trainer has to help a student work through a particular challenge in real time. Metaphorically, it could only function as a beginner riding instructor.

Fast forward to today. I now consider myself to have a working team: ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Our latest collaborations include RootDelight natural gardening courses, TendRoots, a family garden tracking app vibe-coded with Bolt, and AI WISE, a framework for human-AI collaboration education.

Working across three platforms in parallel – sometimes for different purposes, sometimes for the same, and often for stress testing has taught me nuances about communication, cognition, and my own thinking that I couldn’t have learned any other way.

As the work has accelerated, so has my ability to communicate. It has surprised me how much these interactions have reignited my love of language as well as the patience to pause, choose words more carefully, and reflect on whether I was actually understood.

Every prompt is a small act of self-knowledge. Every pushback, theirs or mine, is a moment of reflection. My intention was never to become a crack prompt engineer – and I’m seeing the payoff in that choice. By treating the models not just as tools but as thought partners, my personal growth has rejuvenated in ways I didn’t anticipate.

That is regenerative lifelong learning.

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Philosophy on AI

Human-AI interaction should function as a collaborative partnership in human growth, not a replacement for human thought, judgment, or lived experience. Before engaging AI, people should consciously weigh their own knowledge, intentions, emotional state, and the significance of the inquiry, much like a gardener assessing soil before planting.

Healthy AI use requires active interaction by questioning, pruning, refining, and critically evaluating outputs rather than passively accepting them.

AI-generated ideas only become meaningful when synthesized with real-world experience, values, discernment, and contextual understanding. The ultimate goal is not merely better productivity or faster answers, but the continual evolution of wiser, more capable, and more self-aware humans.