AI is the Recipe Book but YOU are the Chef
A Smarter Way to Think About "Intelligence"
Hello friends,
While many people think AI is going to "take all of our jobs," one of the world’s sharpest minds, mathematician Terence Tao, has a much more hopeful take. He calls it the “Copernican view of intelligence.”
Remember what happened with Copernicus? For centuries everyone believed Earth was the center of the universe. Then we realized . . . nope. Earth is just one planet orbiting the sun in a much bigger solar system. People's minds were blown, though it took many decades for his position to become mainstream.
Tao says we’re having a similar “aha” moment with intelligence right now.
We’ve been acting like human intelligence is the center of everything. Everything else (books, calculators, animals, and now AI) is just a sidekick or a tool. But what if that’s not true?
What if we live in a much richer “universe of intelligence,” where different kinds of smart exist side by side? Human brains are amazing at certain things (creativity, compassion, empathy, kindness, taste, judgment). AI is incredible at others, (speed, remembering huge amounts of information, spotting patterns, grinding through repetitive tasks).
Neither is “better” overall. They’re just different.
Think of it like this (my favorite kitchen analogy):
AI is like a giant, super-fast recipe book with millions of recipes. It can suggest ideas, combine flavors, and even tell you exactly how long to cook something.
But you are still the chef. You decide what meal makes sense for tonight, tweak the ingredients based on what’s in your fridge (or your budget), taste it along the way, and serve it with the right presentation. The recipe book doesn’t replace the chef. It makes the chef way more effective!
The real power shows up when the chef and the recipe book work together.
That’s exactly what Tao is getting at. Instead of asking “Will AI make humans obsolete?” we should be asking:
“How can human intelligence + AI intelligence create things neither could do alone?”
For a small business owner, that might mean:
You bring the local knowledge, customer relationships, and gut feel for what your community actually needs.
AI brings the ability to quickly research trends, write drafts, analyze numbers, or generate marketing ideas 10x faster.
Together? You launch better offers, serve customers smarter, and free up your time for the stuff that really matters: like building real relationships, spending more times with friends and family, and pursuing that pet project that's always been on your to-do list but you never had time to complete.
The old story was a straight line: AI goes from “dumb” to “smarter than us” and we lose. The Copernican story is way more exciting: different intelligences orbiting together, creating possibilities we haven’t even imagined yet.
At Prompted Talks, this is exactly the mindset we teach in every class. We don’t train you to fear AI or worship it. We help you become a confident “chef” who knows how to use the recipe book effectively, whether you’re running a business, teaching a classroom, leading a church, or growing a nonprofit.
The future isn’t human vs. AI.
It’s human + AI, done right.
Ready to start cooking with AI instead of worrying about it?
Request a training session for your team or grab a spot for some one-on-one coaching. We keep it practical, local, and approachable.
Drop a comment below: What’s one task you wish you had a super-fast “recipe book” to help with right now?
Let’s talk soon,
Scott Tindle
