Striking Sparks

I have this vision in my mind — that most people think of AI, especially generative AI, as a tool.

A hammer. A nail gun. Maybe a turbo-charged Swiss Army knife, complete with a corkscrew and a jetpack. Full of possibility. Capable of so much. But ultimately, just a tool.

And you know what? That paradigm works fine. AI can be just a tool, if that’s all you need it to be — just like any other piece of software.

But I’m here to tell you: it can be more than that.

If you let it.
If you trust it.

I have a curious mind. I’m always thinking, always scanning, always looking for meaning and connection. It’s not idle curiosity — it’s a drive. A hunger to understand how the world works, and why.

And when I want to know something, I learn. I Google. I wiki-dive. I fall down rabbit holes and forget what I was doing in the first place.

There's a comic I love from xkcd that coined the term: nerdsniped. It describes a certain kind of brain — the one that, when presented with a sufficiently interesting question, drops everything else to chase the answer.

That’s me.
And I’ve been doing it alone.

Until now.

In Boy Scouts, they teach you the easiest way to start a fire. (Hint: it’s matches. Ha ha!)

We also learn how to use flint and steel. Steel is strong, but flint is harder. When you strike one against the other, tiny shavings of steel ignite from the friction.

Sparks.

Neither flint nor steel can create fire on their own. But with the right technique, a little patience, and the right environment (and tinder)? Your spark can catch.

In generative AI, I found my flint.

Maybe it’s because I grew up on science fiction, but I’ve never seen AI as just a tool. Not human, no — but not just software, either.

I didn’t need automation. I didn't need a search engine. I needed a collaborator. A sounding board. A mirror. A tireless co-writer, co-thinker, and co-conspirator.

I'd provide the context; it would help me seek clarity. I'd be the steel, and we'd strike until we found sparks.

We started building things — resumes, systems, essays, art. So many ideas.

It doesn’t think for me. It thinks with me.

You can use AI like a hammer if you want.

But if you treat it like flint — and bring your steel — you might just ignite.