1. Overview and Introduction

• Jeremy Utley, a professor at Stanford, has spent over 15 years teaching at the intersection of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and artificial intelligence (AI). His work focuses on how non-technical professionals can collaborate effectively with generative AI.
• He wrote a book called Idea Flow about idea generation and prototyping — but the arrival of ChatGPT prompted him to shift his attention to how AI affects creativity.

"Writing the definitive book on idea generation just before AI arrived is like writing the best book on retail just before the internet showed up."

2. Collaborating with AI — and Our Bad Habits

• He emphasizes that technology has trained us poorly.
  • When we see an input box that looks like a Google search bar, we instinctively think, "I need to type something here."
  • Using generative AI (LLMs) like a Google search barely scratches the surface of what it can do.

"You know what to do when you see a Google search bar. But if you use an LLM the same way, you're not even scratching the surface of its capabilities."

• Key shifts in how to work with AI
  • He advises using your voice instead of your fingers (typing).
  • Talking out loud lets you think freely without needing to organize your thoughts first — and when you put down the pressure to sound smart, your intelligence actually opens up.

"Use your voice instead of your fingers. Once you get comfortable with voice, your productivity will change dramatically."

3. Treat AI as a Teammate, Not a Tool

• Treating AI as just a tool has limits.
  • Many people treat AI like a simple tool — if the output isn't great, they say "this is useless" and move on.
• Treating AI as a teammate changes the results.
  • If a teammate delivers weak work, you give them feedback, coach them, mentor them. The same applies to AI: give it feedback, ask it questions.

"People who treat AI as a teammate coach it, give it feedback, and even get the AI to ask them questions."

• Changing how you ask questions
  • You can ask AI, "How could I ask this question better?" — effectively learning from AI how to use AI.

"Excel can't teach you how to use Excel. But AI can teach you how to use itself — if you ask."

4. Real-World Example: Non-Technical Professionals Innovating

• The National Park Service case
  • Jeremy taught AI collaboration basics to 60 backcountry rangers and facility managers.
  • An employee named Adam Reimer was frustrated by the excessive paperwork required when replacing carpet tiles. He used AI to build a tool in 45 minutes that auto-generates the paperwork in plain language.
  • That tool has since spread to all 430 national parks, saving an estimated 7,000 person-days of labor per year.

"The tool Adam built in 45 minutes is expected to save 7,000 days of human labor this year. That's the kind of impact non-technical professionals can create with just basic training."

5. The Reality of AI — and the "Realization Gap"

• AI boosts productivity and quality, but fewer than 10% of people experience meaningful productivity gains.
  • This is called the "realization gap."
• Research findings
  • AI often reduced creativity in some groups.
  • Groups that treated AI as a tool saw creativity decline.
  • Groups that treated AI as a teammate saw creativity increase.

"People who treated AI as a tool became less creative. People who treated it as a teammate became more creative."

6. Practical Tips for Collaborating with AI

• Use your voice.
  • Talking to AI rather than typing allows your thinking to flow more freely.
• Have AI interview you.
  • For example, when preparing for a difficult conversation with a colleague, ask AI to build a psychological profile of that person and run a role-play.
• Get AI to ask you questions.
  • "What questions should I be asking about this topic?"
  • "Where in my work could AI be most valuable?" Let the AI turn the tables and interrogate you.

"Tell the AI: 'Ask me one question at a time, as an expert, to figure out where AI could be most useful in my work.' You'll have the most insightful conversation of your life."

7. The Nature of Creativity — and What Changes in the AI Era

• Defining creativity
  • "Creativity is doing more than the first thing that comes to mind." (Definition from a seventh-grader in Ohio)
• The essence of creativity doesn't change in the AI era.
  • AI makes it easier to reach a result that's "good enough" —
  • But true creativity comes from going beyond good and making more attempts, more variations.

"Creativity is doing more than the first thing that comes to mind."

"The definition of creativity doesn't change in the AI era. Only the human capacity to reach a creative state — and what you're trying to accomplish in collaboration with AI — changes."

8. Conclusion: Work With AI

• The key is not to use AI, but to work with AI.
• Creators have nothing to fear from AI — in fact, they should embrace it actively.

"The only right answer to 'how do you use AI?' is: 'I don't use AI. I work with AI.'"

"Once you start working with AI, everything changes."

9. Key Concepts

• AI collaboration
• Tool vs. teammate
• Using your voice
• Realization gap
• The nature of creativity
• Feedback and coaching
• Getting AI to ask questions
• Variation and iteration
• Non-technical professionals innovating
• Working with AI

10. Closing Thoughts 🌱

This video offers a concrete, practical guide to cultivating creativity in the AI era. The core message: treat AI not as a simple tool but as a true teammate, talk to it freely using your voice, let it ask you questions, and don't be afraid of iteration and variation. Anyone can be creative — and with AI by your side, that potential only grows. 🚀

"Once you start working with AI, everything changes."