Today, I want to share a personal journey of why I stopped prompting AI and started questioning myself to find a deeper sense of self. I asked ChatGPT to summarize two book:
‘Giant Steps’ by Tony Robbins and ‘Global AI Trends’ by Choi Jae-Bung.
I noticed striking parallel between a key point from the first book-that the quality of your questions changes the quality of your life-
and a core message from the second about how individuals can survive in the AI era (the ability to give precise instructions to AI, structured thinking, and skills in content planning and interpretation).
Seeing them as essentially the same thing, I then asked for a translation of the phrase:
‘ And so, my questioning began.’
Me : Today, I want to talk about questions.
AI : A question is not just a tool getting information. It is a starting point that changes the direction of thinking.
The quality of a question determines the depth of thought.
: Jewish people raised their children using a method called Havruta, right?Why did they ask so many questions and teach through conversation?What is Havruta, really?
: Havruta is not a study technique.
It is a form of cognitive training. Rather than searching for correct answers, it builds thinking by stacking questions on top of questions. It emerged from a culture that valued preserving thinking ability over accumulating knowledge.
: I’m almost fifty, in a so-called hundred-year lifespan. I still want to live for myself, not only for my child. But every book I read-self-help-or AI-keeps talking about questions.
Why is that?
: In the age of AI, information and knowledge are no longer humanity’s competitive advantage. What remains distinctly human is the ability to ask questions. That is why so many discussions now converge on questioning.
: Then can AI ask questions of not? They ask questions, give answers, plan things, and structure ideas. Honestly, in some ways, they seem better at it than we are.
: AI can ask questions and is very good at planning and structuring. However, all of these abilities operate only within already-given goals. AI’s questions are instrumental questions.
: Value judgement requires a self, doesn’t it? So is that that the issue-AI has no self right? If there’s no self, can it really ask questions?
: AI does not have a self. It has no sense of time, ownership, responsibility, or desire. Because of this, it can’t generate value judgments on its own. AI can generate questions, but it cannot ask questions about purpose.
: If AI has no self, why are people afraid that it will dominate us?
: Not because AI dominates humans, but because humans are beginning to hand over judgement and purpose to AI. When people stop questioning, AI begings to feel like a ruler.
By the end of all my questions,I reached a singular, undeniable conclusion:
In the age of AI, our priority as parents and educators must shift. It is no longer about racing to teach our children technical skills or finding “AI-proof” jobs. Machines will always be faster at calculating, and algorithms will always be better at processing data.
Instead, we must focus on waking up the “Self” within our children. Before we teach them how to code or how to use a new tool, we must first help them understand who they are. We must nurture their ability to feel, to desire, and to value-things no AI can ever truly replicate. If a child possesses a strong sense of self, they will not be a servant to AI; they will be its master, using it as a tool to fulfill their own unique purpose.
it’s not about teaching my children jobs that AI can’t replace.It’s about making sure they don’t lose their sense of self.