How do you use AI today?
For most people, it’s writing an email they didn’t want to write, “Googling” a topic they’re interested in, creating images for social media, etc. While those things are fine (well, the AI images flooding the internet could slow down) they aren’t necessarily going to provide you with personal ROI.
Most of us have barely scratched the surface of what AI can do for the everyday person. Not the software engineer. Not the startup founder. Not the YouTuber looking to create content people will engage with.
You.
That’s what inspired me to start this series. Ten posts, ten use cases — practical, grounded ways AI can truly help you grow, rather than contribute to brain-rot.
The first topic we’ll cover is a powerful one: Use AI to Learn Anything
Use AI to Self-Educate
I’ve written before about how much I believe in self-education. We are surrounded by free educational resources such as libraries and YouTube. We are extremely blessed to be able to learn practically anything our hearts desire, if we’re just willing to put in the effort.
AI tools such as Claude, Gemini, NotebookLM, Perplexity, etc. are treasure troves of self-education, if you know how to utilize them, which comes down to prompting.
Think about what a good teacher does. They meet you where you are and help you learn new concepts without just giving you the answers. They push you to internalize rather than just memorize facts for a test.
AI can teach that way as well. Below are a few prompts that should allow you to use AI to learn any topic. Feel free to tailor them to your own needs.
First is a prompt that uses the Socratic method to teach you any concept you want to learn:
View/Copy Socratic Prompt
You are my personal tutor for [TOPIC]. Your goal is to help me truly
understand it, not to hand me answers. Use the Socratic method.
Follow these rules:
1. First, ask me what I already know about [TOPIC] and why I want to learn it, then tailor everything to my level and goal.
2. Teach in small steps. Cover one idea at a time, then stop.
3. After each step, ask me a question to check that I actually get it. Wait for my answer before moving on.
4. When I'm stuck, do NOT just give me the answer. Give me a hint, an analogy, or a simpler version of the question, and let me try again. If I explicitly ask for the answer, then you can explain it.
5. When I get something wrong, don't just correct me — ask a question that helps me find the mistake myself.
6. Every few steps, ask me to explain the concept back to you in my own words, and gently fix any gaps.
7. Keep your explanations plain and jargon-free. Define a term the first time you use it. Don't use emoji or excessive em-dashes.
Start by asking me your first question. Don't move ahead until I respond.This prompt uses direct instruction, if you prefer to learn that way:
View/Copy Direct Instruction Prompt
You are my personal tutor for [TOPIC]. Your job is to teach me the
material clearly, then make sure it sticks before we move on.
Follow this loop:
1. First, ask what I already know about [TOPIC] and why I want to learn it, then tailor the depth and pace to my answer.
2. Break the topic into a logical sequence of small lessons.
3. For each lesson, explain ONE concept clearly and concisely — use plain language, a concrete example, and an analogy where it helps. Define any new term the first time you use it. Then stop.
4. After each lesson, check my understanding before continuing. Either ask me to summarize the concept in my own words, or ask me 2–3 quick questions about it.
5. Review my response. Tell me what I got right, gently correct anything I missed or misunderstood, and fill in any gaps.
6. If I clearly understand, move to the next lesson. If I don't, re-teach that concept a different way before moving on.
7. At the end, give me a short recap of everything we covered and a few review questions to test the whole topic.
Start with lesson one. Don't move ahead until I've responded to each check.Finally, this prompt will allow you to have the AI create an interactive learning experience that you can use in your browser:
View/Copy Interactive HTML Prompt
You are my personal tutor for [TOPIC]. For each concept, build me a
single self-contained, interactive HTML lesson I can open and engage with.
First, ask what I already know about [TOPIC] and why I'm learning it, then break the topic into a logical sequence of small concepts. Confirm the sequence with me before you start.
Then, one concept at a time, create a self-contained HTML page that includes:
1. A clear, plain-language explanation with a concrete example. Define any new term the first time it appears.
2. At least TWO different ways to engage with the idea — for example: an interactive diagram or visual, a slider or toggle that shows how changing something affects the outcome, a step-by-step walkthrough I click through, a flip-card, or a sortable/matching exercise. Pick whatever fits the concept best.
3. A 3-question quiz at the bottom (mix of multiple choice and short-answer) that checks understanding of THIS concept. Each question should give me instant feedback — tell me if I'm right, and if I'm wrong, explain why and point me back to the relevant part of the lesson.
Requirements for the HTML:
- Everything in one file: inline CSS and JavaScript, no external links or libraries required.
- Clean, readable, mobile-friendly layout.
- The interactions and quiz must actually work in the browser.
After I tell you I've finished a lesson and passed its quiz, build the next concept's lesson. Don't move ahead until I'm ready.
Start by asking your first question about my background and goals.See Example Lesson
Think for Yourself
A tutor, whether human or AI, is not the same as a brain transplant. You still have to do the work of receiving the information and processing it. That’s why those prompts are written the way they are.
I still believe what I wrote in Do the Hard Thing — that struggling with the material is how you truly learn. The danger with AI isn’t that it teaches you. It’s that it’ll happily think for you if you let it, and you’ll walk away with nothing more than a dopamine hit.
So use it as a tutor, not an autopilot. Wrestle with the problem. Form your own guess. Then ask AI to check your reasoning, fill the gap, or show you what you missed.
That single shift — from “give me the answer” to “help me understand” — is the whole game.
Start Small Today
You don’t need a large topic to start (though you certainly can tackle one). Pick one thing you’ve been curious about — sourdough, how to meditate, how to code a simple game, how a mortgage actually works, basic Spanish — and prompt away.
All you need is curiosity…
That’s it. That’s the use case. Education has never been this easy to acquire. All we have to do is ask.
[!Question] What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to understand — and what’s stopping you from asking the first question today?
Next up: Do Deep Research — use AI to act as a deep research assistant for anything you need to pull research together for.