A Visual Journey Through Artificial Intelligence
Discover how artificial intelligence actually works, from vectors to real-world applications.
AI tools release major updates weekly, not yearly. What you learn today might change next month.
The skill isn't knowing specific tools — it's learning how to learn.
This guide focuses on understanding the fundamentals, so you can adapt as tools evolve.
"Forget annual targets. Build the capacity to learn, adapt, and create value."— Ro Fernandez
To understand AI tools, you need to understand one core concept:
AI converts everything into points in space, then finds what's nearby.
Everything you type becomes a point. AI finds what's closest to that point.
AI can't read words directly. It converts them into numbers called "embeddings."
"sad" = 0.2 "happy" = 0.8
Words with similar meanings get similar numbers. The distance between numbers represents how related concepts are.
Distance = Similarity
One number isn't enough. AI uses multiple dimensions to capture meaning.
Now words have position AND emotion. The second dimension might represent sentiment intensity or energy level.
"joyful" is near "happy" but higher energy
Similar words cluster together in this 2D space.
Real AI systems use hundreds or thousands of dimensions, not just 2 or 3.
Similar ideas cluster together in this high-dimensional space.
This is why AI can understand context, nuance, and relationships between concepts. The magic isn't magic — it's math finding patterns.
Each AI tool has strengths. Here's when to use what:
You can interact with AI at different levels, depending on your needs:
Most people start with GUI, but CLI unlocks 10x more capability.
AI isn't just for tech teams. Here's how different departments are applying it:
For technical professionals, AI acts as a force multiplier:
Not replacing — multiplying output.
The human still makes the decisions; AI handles the repetitive heavy lifting.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) — the step-by-step guides every organization needs but rarely writes.
Days → Hours
AI turns rough notes into polished documentation, making institutional knowledge shareable. What used to take days of writing and formatting now happens in hours.
This alone is transforming how organizations preserve and transfer knowledge.
Jobs aren't disappearing — they're transforming. The question isn't whether AI will change your role, but how.
"AI won't replace you, but someone using AI might."
Those who learn to work with AI will have a significant advantage. Those who don't risk being left behind.
"When teams are strong, AI becomes a force multiplier. When teams lack clarity or development, AI reveals that quickly."— Rebecca Avery
Success with AI requires three core competencies:
These skills compound: the better you get at one, the easier the others become.
Students will use AI — the question is whether we ban it or harness it.
Process over product.
The goal: students who can think, not students who can type prompts. Practical strategies:
Think about a task that takes you a long time. Maybe it's:
If you can explain it to someone else step-by-step, you can guide AI to do it.
Break down your process into clear steps. Write them out in order. Then ask AI to follow those same steps. This approach — called "chain-of-thought" prompting — helps AI understand and replicate complex tasks.
Start with something you already do well. That way, you can evaluate whether AI is following your process correctly and refine your instructions.
"Learning without doing is wasted. How horrible to waste those hundreds of hours I spent learning, and not turn it into action."— Derek Sivers
Let's discuss.
This guide covers the fundamentals, but every organization's AI journey is unique.
For more resources or to continue the conversation, reach out.