AI Tools That Made Me Faster, Not Smarter
Speed and intelligence are different wins. Confusing them is how you automate yourself into a corner.
Most AI tools I use deliver speed, not insight. They draft the email, cut the filler, summarize the call. I do more in less time, but I'm not making better decisions, I'm just making them faster, and sometimes worse because I skipped the thinking the slow version forced.
The tools that made me smarter are rarer: a research assistant that surfaces the contradicting study, a model that argues the other side of my plan. Those slow me down on purpose, and that's the point. They're not throughput, they're a second opinion.
I've started labeling tools as 'faster' or 'smarter' before I adopt them. A faster tool earns its place if it removes drudgery. A smarter tool earns it if it changes my answer. The mistake is expecting a faster tool to also be smart and then trusting its output like it was.
The danger is the speed feels like progress. Shipping three drafts an hour isn't better if all three are shallow. Keep one slow, smart tool in the loop so the fast ones don't flatten your judgment into a habit.