Ever since I watched the Disney Channel original movie Smart House as a kid, I’ve been fascinated by futuristic visions of technology in our daily lives. While writing about artificial intelligence tools and providing advice for using them at WIRED over the past two years, it’s become so clear to me that the software is nothing like it’s depicted in these sci-fi movies or what the hype-focused marketing materials from AI companies would have you believe.
Even with this in mind, I do still consider the current crop of generative AI tools to be sometimes useful, sometimes entertaining, and almost always a little frustrating.
And that belief was my driving motivation to write a second season of our AI Unlocked newsletter. It has been a passion project of mine over the past few months to work on this—chatting with experts in the field, trying out different tools, and soliciting reader responses to last year’s newsletter. The new season is focused on helping you experiment even more with AI tools, while staying realistic about their possibilities.
Honestly, I need to pause for a second and directly thank everyone who engaged with us about using AI. Between my inbox and the reader’s responses to our survey, we heard from over 1,000 people and spent hours poring over every question, tip, and piece of feedback. That data served as the cornerstone for crafting season 2, and your input helped me become better at understanding your varied perspectives as WIRED readers. Overwhelmingly, readers seem interested in knowing how AI can help them with personal tasks, how they can build more confidence in prompt writing, and which new tools are worth experimenting with.
Since it’s season 2, we decided to bring twice the action to AI Unlocked and expanded the newsletter to roll out over 10 daily installments, rather than just five. Each edition focuses on a different topic related to using AI tools. We’ll cover everything from how you can be more productive while using AI to the dangers of trusting AI for medical advice right now.
Some newsletters will feature a “Prompt Pro Tip” that will include an example to help you practice your skills. Others will explain the broader context that will help you get the most out of your interactions with the AI tools. On top of that, y’all sent in so many interesting questions I decided to add a “Mail Bag” section at the bottom of the newsletter to share my insights and perspective on important topics.
What else can you expect from AI Unlock’s return? The newsletter continues to be filled with miniature homework assignments to help you practice and get more acquainted with AI tools. Also, paid subscribers to WIRED will have the opportunity to ask me questions during live video calls, which we’ll share additional details about soon.
A lot of information will be coming your way in the newsletters, so I would recommend creating a special folder in your email inbox for AI Unlocked. This way you can go through each day’s newsletter as it arrives, and save everything for later as well, in case you are looking for further reading links or more practice opportunities.
As a journalist, hearing directly from our readers is so valuable. I hope you truly enjoy this second season, while sending in plenty of questions along the way, and it leaves you feeling better equipped to interact with chatbot tools. If you already signed up for season 1, you can expect to receive season 2 automatically in your inbox. New to the series? Welcome! We’re glad to have you. Season 1 is available online right now, if you want to go back over everything. But, don’t be afraid to go ahead and sign up for season 2 as well. I designed these newsletters to be accessible for newcomers, as well as those more familiar with the technology.
I can’t wait to go on another journey together, and I hope you’re excited too!
