(Reviewed by JD Jung)
Since I started reading Human Again, I’ve been completely nerding out on ChatGPT—and I love it! Author J.D. Macpherson shows how to harness the power of AI by deliberately adding the human element: emotion, perspective, and lived experience. Rather than replacing creativity, AI can amplify it.
What I especially appreciate is that the author comes from a background as an artist, writer, and journalist—not a software engineer. That perspective makes the book far more relatable.
Macpherson demonstrates how to reframe questions to get the most out of AI—how to dig deeper, push further, and avoid settling for a single answer. She explains that while creating content with AI is easy, the real skill lies in adding the human element—and she shows exactly how to do that. She also shows how to actively challenge and even antagonize an AI assistant to get better results, providing clear examples of how to do this effectively.
AI, she argues, can help you develop almost any skill and can function as a 24/7 tutor. One of the book’s biggest strengths is its practical “toolkits,” which offer specific suggestions for using AI effectively—from creative work to investing. She encourages readers to see AI not as a replacement, but as a collaborator.
Toward the end of the book, she provides an important set of caveats and warnings when using AI. Skepticism, she emphasizes, is your best defense. Those with more cultural awareness and life experience will ultimately get more value from AI. She even coined the acronym INK: Insight, Not Knowledge.
Human Again makes a compelling case that AI won’t take your job—it will give you leverage. However, you must be the editor. The leverage depends on honing distinctly human skills: insight, empathy, and emotional connection. You still hold the advantage through your lived experience. AI can assist, but it cannot create authenticity for you.
Human Again is invaluable, and I recommend it to everyone. It’s a thoughtful, practical, and empowering guide to working with AI, and one I expect to return to often.